Police commissioner
From Open Encyclopedia
Police Commissioner (or Commissioner of Police) is the title of the chief officer of many law enforcement agencies. In some organisations, the commissioner is a political appointee, and may or may not actually be a professional police officer. In these circumstances, there is often a professional chief of police in charge of day-to-day operations. Usually, however, the commissioner is the professional head of the organisation.
In some U.S. states, the sheriff fills the same function as a police commissioner. For example in Las Vegas, Nevada the elected county sheriff heads a combined county-municipal Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The agency was created via a merger of the Sheriff's Office and the former municipal Police Department.
In the police of France and other French-speaking countries, Commissaire (Commissioner) is a lower rank equating approximately to the British police rank of Superintendent.
