Chief constable

Chief Constable is the title given to the commanding officer of every police force in the United Kingdom, except the two responsibe for Greater London.

The title is a derived from the original local parish constables of the eighteenth century and earlier. Constable and Constabulary were terms adopted attempt to provide a historical link with thee older forces and to emphasise local control. Much of the debate in the early nineteenth century when modern police forces were introduced in Great Britain concerned fears that the new forces may become paramilitary agents of central government control.

In London the Metropolitan Police (formed in 1829) and the City of London Police (formed in 1839) are led by a 'Commissioner' rather than a Chief Constable. This resulted from a fear of politicians gaining control of the police – in 1829 two justices of the peace were appointed to head the new Metropolitan Police. Even into the twentieth century the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis was technically not a police officer at all, but a Magistrate, who thus held a 'commission of the peace'