A 'police commissioner is the head of the police department , responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, BBC manage budgets, and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies and community groups. Additionally, the commissioner handles high-profile cases, addresses public concerns, and represents the department in various forums.

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  Royal Canadian Mounted Police
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  Catalonia Police
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  New Zealand Police
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  Danish National Police
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  French National Police
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  Italian State Police
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  Dutch Police
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  Polish Police
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  Portuguese Public Security Police
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  Romanian Police
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  Singapore Police Force
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  Spanish National Police
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  Swedish Police
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  California Highway Patrol
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  Indian Police Service
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  Malta Police Force
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  Bangladesh Police

Police commissioners may be experiencedpolice officers, though some are politically appointed, or elected civilians;^[1] not sworn police officers.^[2][3][4] In such cases, usually a professionalchief of police is in charge of day-to-day operations. In either event, commissioners are the designated heads of the organizations.^[5]

In police services of the UK,Commonwealth and United States, the title of commissioner may designate the head of an entire police force, or a member of an oversight board of police commissioners.^[6][7][8]

A police commissioner should not be confused with a police commissary. In France, Italy, Spain and some Latin American countries "commissary" denotes the head of a single police station (analogous to an inspector or chief inspector in UK and Commonwealth countries). However titles such as commissaire in French, commissario in Italian and comisario in Spanish can mean either commissioner or commissary in English, depending on the context.^[9][10]

TheAustralian Federal Police and the autonomous Australian state and territory police forces are each presided over by a commissioner, who is accountable to constituents through a minister of state. The state ofVictoria at one time (during the 19th-centuryGold Rush) appointed commissioners for both the metropolitan area and the goldfields. Outranking both was a "chief commissioner"—a title that has survived the disappearance of the earlier junior commissioners. In Victoria, as elsewhere, the second-highest rank is deputy commissioner.^[11]

The insignia of rank worn by a commissioner in the Australian Federal Police and theNew South Wales Police Force is a crown over a star and crossed and wreathed tipstaves, similar to the insignia of a military full general. In all other civilian forces, the insignia is a crown over crossed and wreathed tipstaves, similar to the insignia of a military lieutenant-general.^[12]

After the proclamation of the1959 Constitution of Brunei, it was stated that a Commissioner of Police has to be appointed for theRoyal Brunei Police Force (RBPF).^[13] The first commissioner was appointed on 29 September 1959, assuming command of the force.^[14] The Commissioner of Police, who oversees the RPB headquarters (the Commissioner's of Police Office) with assistance from the Deputy Commissioner of Police and Secretariat, reports directly to themonarch.^[15]

In Canada, the highest-ranking officer of theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police and of theOntario Provincial Police holds the rank of commissioner.^[16][17]In the province of Alberta, thePolice Act requires the municipality to appoint police commissioners that are required to provide public oversight of the police. In Alberta's capital city,Edmonton, there are nine commissioners, including two city councillors and seven city-appointed members, the object being to "provide civilian oversight for the police service".^[18] The commissioners appoint and oversee a chief of police, to whom is delegated the day-to-day management of the force.^[19]

In reference to the police of France and otherFrench-speaking countries, the rank ofcommissaire is a rank equating to somewhere in between theBritish police ranks ofsuperintendent andchief superintendent.^[20] The rank above is called "divisional commissioner". This is sometimes equated to a chief superintendent, but can in some cases hold a similar function to aDeputy Chief Constable. A former intermediate rank of "principal commissioner" was abolished in 2006.

The second-highest career bracket in German law enforcement leads to the rank of police commissioner orKommissar.Training encompasses three years in a police academy (graduating asDiplom-Verwaltungswirt or bachelor of public administration). The highest possible rank within this career bracket is that ofErster Polizeihauptkommissar orErster Kriminalhauptkommissar. The work of aKommissar, in general, centers on investigation of felonies, depending on the branch of police and department to which he belongs, similar to the equivalent of an inspector in British-styled police forces. Roughly equivalent to a British commissioner would be(Landes-) Polizeipräsident orInspekteur der Polizei, titles that differ between police forces in Germany.^[21]

The head of theHong Kong Police (Royal Hong Kong Police Force 1969 to 30 June 1997) force has used this title since 1938.^[22][23]

TheNational Police of Iceland employs a national commissioner (Icelandic:Ríkislögreglustjóri) (four-star-rank) that is the head of 15 districts across Iceland. The commissioner is not an experienced police officer. Most police chiefs in Iceland are educated lawyers, not experienced police officers.^{[24][failed verification]}

Of the 15 districts in the Icelandic police, each has its own police chief and is headed by the national commissioner. The minister of judicial affairs is in charge of law enforcement in Iceland.^[24]

Thegarda commissioner is the officer overseeing theGarda Síochána, the national police force.^[25]

In India, the commissioner of police designation is held by different ranks ofIndian Police Service officers at different places. The Commissioner of Police holds a pivotal role as the head of city police forces in India.

For example, it is held by aDirector General of Police (DGP) rank officer inDelhi andKolkata; and by anAdditional Director General of Police (ADGP) rank officer inMumbai,Bangalore,Hyderabad,Visakhapatnam,Lucknow,Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj (Allahabad),Gautam Budh Nagar, andSurat; byInspector General of Police (IGP) officer inCyberabad Metropolitan Police,Gurgaon,Pune,Nashik,Coimbatore,Madurai,Thane,Howrah,Siliguri,Trivandrum, andCochin; and byDeputy Inspector General of Police officer inBidhannagar,Kozhikode and in many small cities.

In theIndonesian National Police, the four levels of commissioner are police chief commissioner (komisaris besar polisi), police deputy chief commissioner (ajun komisaris besar polisi), police commissioner (komisaris polisi), and police deputy commissioner (ajun komisaris polisi). Due to strong military influence in its history, even now, police ranks can be compared to the ranks of the Indonesian military. The four commissioner ranks are equivalent to theIndonesian military ranks ofcolonel,lieutenant colonel,major, andcaptain, respectively.^[26]

In theItalian Police, a commissioner (commissario) is the superintendent of acommissariato, a police station/detachment that can either serve anentire township of small or medium dimensions, or a limited area in a metropolitan city.^[27]

The JapanesePrefectural police forces used this rank, and it was formerly known aschief superintendent. The rank holders assumed the responsibility of being a chief of the prefectural police force. It was lower than a senior commissioner and higher than asuperintendent.

The commissioner of police in Japan is equivalent to an armymajor general.

In theRoyal Malaysia Police, states of Sabah and Sarawak contingent are led by police commissioner than rest of the states in Malaysia, a special status for two states.^[28]

In theMalta Police Force, the commissioner of police is the head of the police department, responsible for its entire management and control.^[29] Since 2016, a chief executive officer at the Malta Police Force was appointed, to work alongside the commissioner of police to implement the Police Force Vision.^[30]

In the Republic ofMauritius, thecommissioner of police is the head of the national law enforcement agency called theMauritius Police Force (MPF), which is responsible for policing on mainland Mauritius, Rodrigues, and other outer islands. The position dates back to 1767, when Antoine Codère was the first commissioner of police.^[31] The commissioner operates under the aegis of the Home Affairs Division of the prime minister's office and the MPF employs around 12,500 police officers, who are posted at the eight divisions and 14 branches.^[32]

The first chief commissioner is the head of theNational Police Corps. The commissioner is appointed by the Crown, and reports to the minister ofJustice and Security. The commissioner is the highest-ranking sworn police member in the country.^[33]

The commissioner of police is the head of theNew Zealand Police. The commissioner is appointed for a five-year term by thegovernor-general, and reports to theminister of police.^[34][35] The position combines two functions, that of chief constable in charge of policing and cases, andchief executive responsible for assets and budgeting.^[36] The rank insignia is a sword and a rectangular cylinder crossed over each other with a single crown above.^[37] In military terms, the rank is equivalent toLieutenant General.^[38]

The Police Force Act 1886 split the police from the standing army and militia on 1 September 1886. Sir George Whitmore was appointed as the first commissioner, reporting to the minister of defence.^[39] Early commissioners came from theUnited Kingdom with military or law-enforcement experience, such as Walter Dinnie, who had served as inspector atScotland Yard.

According to thePublic Service Commission, from 2021 to 2024 then Commissioner of Police, Andrew Coster received a yearly salary of $670,000, making him tied for the sixth-highest pay among public sector leaders.^[40]

InNigeria, a commissioner of police is the head of an entirestate branch of theNigeria Police Force.^[41]

In Poland, a commissioner (komisarz) is a relatively low rank, directly abovepodkomisarz and belownadkomisarz, comparable to alieutenant of the armed forces.^[26]

Historically, in the Civil Police of Portugal, a police commissioner (Portuguese:comissário) was a divisional commander in the Lisbon and Oporto police forces or the chief of a district police force in the otherdistricts of the country. The chief of each of the Lisbon and Oporto police forces had the title of commissioner general (comissário-geral). With the reorganization of Civil Police and its transformation in thePublic Security Police (PSP) in the 1930s, commissioner became a police rank in this force.^[42]

Presently, commissioner is an officer rank in the PSP, roughly equivalent to the military rank of captain. It is above the rank of subcommissioner and below that of superintendent. Commissioners usually have the role of second-in-command of PSP divisions commanded by subintendents.

The rank insignia of a commissioner consists in a dark blueepaulet with three PSP stars (silver six points stars with the "SP" monogram in the center).

In theRomanian Police, similarly to the French Police (seecommissaire de police), the rank of commissioner (comisar) is equivalent to the British police rank of superintendent.^[43]

In Spain, aNational Police commissioner is the chief of apolice station. Thisrank is calledcomisario principal. A commissioner exists in the biggest cities, and in smaller cities, the chief of the police is headed by asuperintendent. In theCivil Guard, this rank does not exist because it has a military organization.

In England and Wales, outside of Greater London,police and crime commissioners are directly elected officials charged with securing efficient and effective policing of theirpolice area. They are not warrantedpolice officers, although they appoint and hold to account theirchief constable. The first police and crime commissioners wereelected in November 2012, with the lowest electorate turnout ever in England and Wales.Historically the title "commissioner" has denoted the professionalchief police officer of certain police forces, and that is still the case within Greater London, with theCommissioner of theCity of London Police and theCommissioner of Police of the Metropolis. Both these commissioners are appointed, not elected, and since the 1950s have been career police officers (as opposed to the previous practice of appointing formerBritish Army officers). Although they were technicallyjustices of the peace until the 1970s,^[44] the commissioners have always worn a similar uniform to police officers, and have been treated similarly in terms of pay and terms of service.^[45]

Some U.S. police agencies use the title "commissioner" for the head of a police department or state agency. The term may refer to:

• The commanding officer of a police agency, such as for theCalifornia Highway Patrol, theBaltimore Police Department, and theMetropolitan Police Department of St. Louis.
• A civilian manager of a police agency, such as for theNew York City Police Department,Boston Police Department, andNassau County Police Department.^[46][47]
• A member of a board of civilians who oversee a police agency, such as for theLos Angeles Police Department andDetroit Police Department^[48][49]

• Sheriff
• Police and Crime Commissioner
• Chief Constable (UK)
• Chief of police (United States and Canada)
• Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (Greater London)
• Commissioner of Police for the City of London
• Commissioner of Police (Hong Kong)
• Police Commissioner of Mumbai
• Police Commissioner of New Delhi
• Commissioner of Police (New Zealand)
• Commissioner of Police (Singapore)
• Police Commissioner (New York City)
• Police Commissioner (City of St. Louis)
• Commissaire de police