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Superintendent (Supt) is arank in theBritish police and in most English-speakingCommonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version issuperintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in mostBritish Overseas Territories, in many former British colonies, as well as inPortugal and in severalformer Portuguese colonies. In some countries, such as Italy, the rank of superintendent is a lower rank.
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In Australia, the rank of superintendent is the next senior rank fromchief Inspector and is less senior than achief superintendent (Victoria Police,South Australia Police,New South Wales Police,Queensland Police) or anassistant commissioner (Western Australia Police).Some officers also hold the rank of detective chief superintendent (though this is seldom used) anddetective superintendent.Superintendents wear an epaulette bearing one pip below a crown, the same rank badge as alieutenant-colonel and wear police caps with a laurel wreath across the brim to indicate seniority.
In Bangladesh, the rank of superintendent of police (SP) is the next rank above additional superintendent of police (ASP) and below additional deputy inspector-general of police (Addl.DIG). In metropolitan units, a superintendent is called a deputy police commissioner. In Special Branch, they are known as special superintendent of police.
InCanada, the rank of superintendent is usually the next senior rank up frominspector. Some police forces[example needed] also have the higher rank of staff superintendent (senior staff superintendent) or regional superintendent. Quebec-based police forces (e.g.Sureté du Québec,Service de police de la Ville de Montréal,Quebec City Police Service) do not use this rank or rank structure.
Hong Kong Police Force ranks are based on the British system:
InIndia, asuperintendent of police (SP) heads the police force of apolice district or is in charge of a rural area in a district. Their rank badge is the state emblem one star. The rank below it is additional superintendent of police (Addl.SP) or deputy superintendent of police (Dy.SP), while the rank above it is senior superintendent of police (SSP). In the state ofKerala, superintendents of police in charge of districts are called District Police Chiefs.[1]
In theRepublic of Ireland the rank of superintendent is betweeninspector andchief superintendent. There are usually two or three assigned to each division. Detectives use the "detective" prefix. There were 178 superintendents in theGarda Síochána at the beginning of 2006. In theIrish language, a Garda superintendent is aceannfort, which translates literally as "headman".Ard-Cheannfort is a chief superintendent or "high headman".Ceannfort is also used for the military rank of "commandant", equivalent to major.
Each police district is commanded by a superintendent. Districts are sub-units of divisions, which are commanded by chief superintendents.
In theItalianPolizia di Stato, the rank ofvicequestore equals a British police superintendent, while the rank ofsovrintendente (Italian for superintendent) is a low-level rank, equal to a British or American police sergeant and also equal to sergeant in the Italian military.
In Japan, it is used by thePrefectural police for the officer in command of a smaller police station.[2] It is equivalent to the Japanese army rank oflieutenant colonel.
Superintendent general and superintendent are, respectively, the ranks of the commander and deputy commanders of thePublic Security Police (CPSP) of Macau. The rank of superintendent is senior to the rank of intendent.
The CPSP rank insignia follows the generic model of the Portuguese Public Security Police, with the insignia of senior officers consisting of epaulets that contain two crossedhorsewhips inside alaurel wreath and PSP stars (six-point silver star with the "SP" monogram in the center) whose number defines the precise rank. The number of stars in the insignia of superintendent general and superintendent are, respectively, four and three. The rank insignia of superintendent general and superintendent are also distinguished in being in red epaulets instead of the dark blue of the other ranks.
InNew Zealand, the rank of superintendent is aboveinspector and belowassistant commissioner. Superintendents are typically appointed as district commanders or directors of service centres, and the rank is also held by the commandant of theRoyal New Zealand Police College.
InPakistan, a senior superintendent of police is the head of the district police. Some districts and police divisions are commanded by superintendents of police. The police service of Pakistan now identifies a new hierarchy including DPO (District Police Officer), CCPO (Capital City Police Officer) etc. Superintendent of Police is equivalent to DPO [or CPO (City Police Officer) in smaller districts] and can be aCSP recruit belonging to PSP (Police Service of Pakistan) and can also be a ranker.
In theRoyal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, the rank of superintendent is abovechief inspector and belowchief superintendent.
In thePhilippines, superintendent is arank in thePhilippine National Police, theBureau of Jail Management and Penology, and theBureau of Fire Protection. It is above chief inspector and belowsenior superintendent and is regarded as the equivalent oflieutenant colonel in thePhilippine Army.
InPortugal, superintendent (Portuguese:superintendente) is an officer rank in thePublic Security Police (PSP). It is senior to the police rank ofintendant and inferior to the rank of chief superintendent, being roughly equivalent to a colonel in the military.
Superintendents usually exercise the role of commanding officers of district commands or the role of second-in-command in the metropolitan and regional commands.
The rank insignia of a superintendent consists of a dark blue epaulet with two crossedhorsewhips inside alaurel wreath and three PSP stars arranged in an inverted triangle. Each PSP star consists of a six-point silver star with the "SP"monogram in the center.
In Singapore, the rank is used in both theSingapore Police Force (SPF) and theImmigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) as both use the same rank structure.[3][4] In the SPF, there are three tiers of superintendent: assistant superintendent of police (ASP); deputy superintendent of police (DSP); and superintendent of police (SUPT). These three ranks fall under the senior police officer category.
The rank was introduced in 1825, for the head of theCape Town police. It was discontinued in 1860.
It was also used in the short-livedGriqualand Mounted Police from 1873 to 1880 and in theNatal Police from 1894 to 1913, theTransvaal Town Police from 1901 to 1908, theTransvaal Police from 1908 to 1913, and theOrange River Colony Police from 1908 to 1913.
The rank reappeared in theUnion of South Africa as the rank of the head of theSouth African Railways & Harbours Police in 1944. It was equivalent to the military rank of colonel, with the same rank insignia. From 1946, there were three grades: chief superintendent (brigadier), deputy chief superintendent (colonel), and superintendent (lieutenant-colonel). The police titles were replaced by the military titles in the 1960s.
The title was reinstated for theSouth African Police Service in 1995. There were two grades: senior superintendent (equivalent to colonel) and superintendent (lieutenant-colonel). The police titles were replaced by the military titles in 2010.
InSri Lanka, superintendent of police (SP) is a senior gazetted officer rank senior toassistant superintendent of police and junior tosenior superintendent of police. The latter was created in the 1980s. Superintendents are typically appointed as regional commanders of police divisions.
The rank of superintendent is senior tochief inspector and junior tochief superintendent. The rank badge is a crown worn on theepaulettes, the same as amajor in theBritish Army.
The rank of superintendent was introduced at the foundation of theMetropolitan Police in 1829. Eachdivision was commanded by a superintendent. The rank below superintendent was originallyinspector until the introduction of chief inspector in 1868. Originally, only thecommissioners held a higher rank than superintendent (and they were not sworn police officers). In 1839, CaptainWilliam Hay was appointed to the new rank of inspecting superintendent, replaced byassistant commissioner in 1856. The rank ofdistrict superintendent was introduced between superintendent and assistant commissioner in 1869, and was renamedchief constable in 1886.
The rank of superintendent was also adopted in the Detective Branch (later theCriminal Investigation Department) from 1868, whenAdolphus Williamson, the first head of the branch, was promoted to the rank.
In 1949, Metropolitan Police superintendents were regraded to the new rank of chief superintendent, chief inspectors were regraded to superintendent, andsub-divisional inspectors anddivisional detective inspectors were regraded to chief inspector (with those ranks being abolished).
In September 1953, there was another change, when the rank was split into superintendent grade I (current superintendents, chief inspectors commanding sub-divisions and detective chief inspectors commanding divisional CIDs) and superintendent grade II (other current chief inspectors), with a redefined rank of chief inspector being created for seniorinspectors.[5] Superintendents grade II wore the crown (the rank badge formerly worn by chief inspectors), with superintendents grade I wearing a crown over a pip (the rank badge formerly worn by superintendents). This lasted until 1974, when superintendent once more became a single rank, wearing a crown on the epaulettes.
From January 1954 there was one superintendent grade I and one chief inspector in each sub-division, one chief superintendent, one superintendent grade II and one detective superintendent grade I in each division, and onecommander, onedeputy commander, one detective chief superintendent, and one detective superintendent grade II in each district.[5] A detective chief inspector was added in each division later in 1954.[6]
In most other forces, superintendent lay between inspector andassistant chief constable until well into the 20th century. In many smaller forces, the senior superintendent was also the ACC. Some forces had chief inspectors, and some later acquired chief superintendents, but this was by no means universal. Today, however, every force in the country has all three ranks.
A superintendent's starting salary, as of 2024[update], is£80,784 rising to £95,025 after five years. These salaries may be affected by regional and competency pay allowances.[7]
In theUnited States, superintendent is the title used for the head of certain police departments, such as theNew Jersey State Police,[8] Police Command Staff inNew York State Police,[9]Massachusetts State Police,[10]Chicago Police Department,[11]New Orleans Police Department,[12]Ohio State Highway Patrol,[13]Missouri State Highway Patrol,[14]Oregon State Police,[15] andIndiana State Police.[16] In some police departments, superintendent is instead the title used to describe a position with responsibilities that would be given in other police departments to bureau or division chiefs, with examples being theCambridge Police Department,[17]Boston Police Department[18] andDayton, Ohio Police Department.[19]