Chief Inspector

This profile has recently been reviewed and updated, including the CVF 2024 and core skills, and the new version can be found on College Learn by entering the Profile title in the search function.

Chief Inspectors manage large teams of inspectors, sergeants, constables and police staff. They may be the most senior operational response officer or manage assigned specialist policing functions such as investigations. This role carries specific legal powers in line with inspector rank to enable the maintenance of law and order.

Chief Inspectors plan, manage and monitor operational policing activity. They effectively and efficiently set the plan for deployment of resources to incidents, including major and/or critical incidents. Chief Inspectors manage and mitigate risk effectively in order ensure the safety and wellbeing of officers, staff and the public and to respond effectively to problems, incidents and crime.

• Plan, manage and monitor complex front line and/or specialist operational policing activity managing competing demands and priorities to make informed deployment decisions and ensure best use of available resources.
• Lead, motivate and engage large and diverse teams of inspectors, sergeants, constables and police staff, protecting and promoting workforce wellbeing to uphold professional standards and enable a high performing team.
• Contribute to the setting, monitoring and assessment of team key performance indicators (KPIs) to support the achievement of wider objectives.
• Set, monitor and assess KPIs for individual team members in alignment with wider objectives, taking corrective action as necessary to ensure that the team effectively contribute towards the achievement of Force goals.
• Identify and manage initial responses to major and/or critical incidents in alignment with relevant frameworks and guidance, ensuring appropriate resource allocation and risk management to enable effective service delivery.
• Manage large matrix teams, directing and monitoring workloads in accordance with operational policing plans and priorities to provide an efficient and effective response to problems, incidents and crime.
• Manage large team budgets, monitor and review expenditure to ensure best use of available resources and value for money.
• Analyse performance data and information against team objectives in order to report against performance management measures and inform workforce planning.
• Identify, manage and mitigate operational threats and risks in line with national guidance and operational policing plans to maximise the safety and wellbeing of officers, staff, and the public.
• Develop and maintain relationships with communities and multi-agency partners to drive collaboration and inform policing priorities and plans.
• Lead the analysis and evaluation of existing processes and practices within area of work in order to identify and implement opportunities for change and innovation, promote best practice and enable continuous improvement in evidence based policing within teams.

Prior Education and Experience:

Typically, a Chief Inspector will have:

• Operational experience at Inspector level.
• Met all necessary local and national promotion criteria.

Police Education Qualifications Framework:

The educational requirement for the ranks above Police Constable has still to be confirmed. Should an educational requirement be agreed, the expectation is that it will be set at Level 7 for the rank of Chief Inspector and above. Information will be made available in due course by the College of Policing. Any new requirements agreed with the Service will require development before implementation. Consequently existing promotion requirements will continue to apply for the foreseeable future.

Skills:

• Able to plan to short and medium-term cycles, to coordinate a range of activities appropriately within the function, to match these to available resources, and to identify and mitigate known risks to delivery.
• Able to develop and implement an effective stakeholder and partner relationship plan which develops trusts and enables contributions.
• Able to engage a variety of audiences through a range of media to inform and/or persuade.
• Able to develop and motivate a diverse team and create strong engagement of individuals with their personal and team objectives and with Force values, behaviours and strategic priorities.
• Skilled in setting, monitoring and enabling high performance against team and individual performance objectives.
• Able to identify potential applications of new or improved practices related to area of work to improve ways of working.
• Able to contribute to resource planning, to manage financial budgets and utilise commercial acumen to make risk-based decisions that deliver effective outcomes within the resources allocated.
• Able to seek out and identify a range of information to identify patterns, trends and options, and use SARA (scan, analyse, respond and assess) principles to solve multifaceted and complex problems.
• Skilled in coaching and mentoring to enable appropriate career and professional development.
• Able to lead the delivery of change initiatives within a complex team.
• Able to problem solve and critically question and identify potential opportunities to enhance efficiency and/or effectiveness across teams.
• Able to maintain personal resilience and wellbeing in challenging situations and enable others to develop personal resilience and wellbeing.

• Maintain knowledge and understanding of Police Regulations and College of Policing guidance, best practice and any local policy applicable to the operational police context and leading and managing teams.
• Maintain and update key knowledge, understanding and skills relating to legislation policy and practice across all functional policing areas of operational responsibility.
• Maintain knowledge and understanding of new approaches identified by evidence based policing research and problem solving and team working and synthesise these into working practice.
• Maintain a working knowledge and understanding of new and evolving crime threats and priorities; and current best practice to tackle these in order to enable a pro-active and preventative approach.
• Complete all annual and mandatory training.
• Maintain knowledge and understanding of performance management and assessment process and ensure they are implemented effectively when leading and managing teams.
• Keep up to date with guidance and best practice on health, safety and welfare.
• Ensure knowledge and application of operational command responsibilities, including authorisation of legislative powers follows current best practice.
• Keep up to date with the policing evidence base and new approaches to evidence based policing.

Not applicable.

Specialist Chief Inspector roles, for example:

• Senior Investigator – (PIP3)

Please review the specialist profiles to identify any relevant additional profiles for your role.