posted
Hello everyone! This is my first thread here at Flare (hope I've got it in the right area!), after being a member for just under six months.
I have a question for the US citizens - what are the Police ranks?
I currently have Chief, Commander, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant and Officer - are there any others? I've looked on the Internet and cannot find anything but have found plenty about the armed forces from their main websites. Is there a site that would answer this question and also tell me the responsibilities of each rank (and possibly the salary?).
I'd really appreciate some help guys and gals as I'm doing a comparison between the US and UK police forces (for my novel). I'll probably have some other questions along the way that only US citizens can answer (and/or people who are better acquainted with the Internet than I am ), so consider yourselves warned - I shall be calling upon your skills again in the future.
Regards
akb1979
[ September 26, 2001: Message edited by: akb1979 ]
-------------------- If you cant convince them, confuse them.
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
I don't think there's any uniform ranking system, and keep in mind that you've got lots of police organizations: State Troopers, City Police, County Police, and even local town police, in some cases.
Here in Maryland, you've got the State Police, Baltimore Police, County Police for the majority of counties (many of the more rural areas rely on State Police only).
posted
We seem to have a lot of different law enforcement agencies in Texas. At the state level, there's the Department of Public Safety State Troopers. At the county level we have the Sherriff's Departments. Also at the county level or at a level between that and the city level are the Constable Departments. At the city level we have the city departments (in my case, the Houston Police Department). Then come the sub-municipal departments. In my area, those include the Metro Police (patrolling for the Metropolitan Transit Authority), University of Houston Police Department, Houston Independent School District Police Department, and the Texas Medical Center Police Department. Texas has an odd fascination with cops and guns.
As for the ranks, I can say what I've seen for municipal and county level departments. In the Sherriff's department, you have the County Sherriff, regional sherriffs (I think), deputy sherriffs, and patrol officers (I think). In the Constable's department, there's the constable and deputy constable. In the municipal and below departments, I've seen the chief, deputy chief, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, coporals, and officers.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
posted
There are also Sherriff departments, which are like State Police Departments, except in different divisions for select areas.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Uh ... well, sherrif departments exist alongside County police. A sherrif and his/her deputies are responsible for serving warrents, and bringing prisoners to and from the courthouse, as well as picking up prisoners from other jurisidictions being handed over on extradition treaties.
Sherrifs and their deputies don't have police powers. They can't pull you over for speeding, and they're not allowed to carry a weapon off-duty.
posted
Um....so very wrong. I was pulled over by a Sherriff not even 2 months ago. Maybe their powers are just limited in your state. But out here, they are more numerous then city or state cops.
-------------------- "Lotta people go through life doing things badly. Racing's important to men who do it well. When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."
-Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney, LeMans
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Where do you live? If you're in a very rural area, then yeah, sherrif's and deputies have normal police powers. In more urban areas, they're usually just glorified prisoner transports.
posted
First of all, a big Flare howdy to youse akb1979!
Two things about the topic:
Police departments, while generally keeping the same organizational structure as the military differ from department to department and may not use the same terms for the same jobs.
The bigger the organization, the more complex it gets. Take my Los Angeles Police Department for example. Huge. Big even. So probably not the same as police structure on Yakima Washington.
Sieggy's list is pretty good, only leaving out Detective.
And about the sheriff Mr. Snay, in the Los Angeles metroplex, several smaller cities contract with the sheriff because the cities can not afford police departments of their own. As a result, the Los Angeles County Serfiff Department is very wide-spread and active. See 'em all the time.
[ September 26, 2001: Message edited by: Jay the Obscure ]
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
You could be an architectural find in Northwestern Cambodia?
quote:Phum Snay
Cambodia is famed for its magnificent jungle-clad temples but little is known of the rise of the state that created these architectural masterpieces. Recently the construction of a road in Banteay Meanchey Province in Northwestern Cambodia revealed the remains of a Pre-Angkorian settlement. Villagers discovered rich burials orientated with the head to the west. Unfortunately this discovery sparked an episode of looting which led to the near destruction of the site. While the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has made valiant efforts to discourage looting it is a difficult task. Gaping holes spot the landscape with piles of human bone and broken pottery, discarded as valueless, in the spoil heaps. The looters sell their wares to middlemen who then sell them across the border in Thailand.
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I knew I was leaving something out the ranks: detectives. All in all, I'm still a bit confused about the roles of all the law enforcement agencies carry around here.
Our Sherriff's department apparently have normal police powers and can go normal police calls. This past summer, a deputy was killed while responding to a domestic violence call. However, this wasn't actually inside the Houston city limits, but it was within the city limits of a smaller village outside Houston. I can't say that I've seen Sherriff's department vehicles patrolling in the city limits, but they are out in force in the smaller towns and unincorporated parts of the county. And, yeah, some of the towns too small to maintain a police force due contract out with the Sherriff's department.
I have no real idea how the Constable's department fits into the scheme of things. I have seen their patrols cars all over the place, but I haven't actually seen them do anything. They seem to serve in the city limits as well; two blocks from my dorm is a sign announcing the name of the constable of precinct seven.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
), so consider yourselves warned - I shall be calling upon your skills again in the future.
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