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Rank Structure Being
a paramilitary organization, Victoria Police has an extremely well defined
rank structure. Each rank has it's own specific insignia which is
worn on the uniform by each member. The current rank structure of
Victoria Police (as of December 2002) is:
All insignia of rank is worn on the
epaulettes of uniform shirts, jackets and jumpers. Some variations
exist on ceremonial uniforms.
Reservist
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The insignia worn by Reservists is a Royal
Blue background with a single silver coloured chevron below an uppercase
letter "R" within a circle. |
Constable
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A solid Royal Blue background. |
Senior
Constable
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Royal Blue background with two silver
coloured chevrons. |
Leading
Senior Constable
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Royal Blue background with two chevrons below
two thin parallel lines which run across the epaulette. |
Sergeant
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Royal Blue background with three silver
coloured chevrons. |
Senior Sergeant
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Royal Blue background with three silver
chevrons below a crown surrounded by a laurel wreath. |
Inspector
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Royal Blue background with three silver Bath
Stars running along the length of the epaulette. |
Chief Inspector
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Royal Blue background with a single
crown.
This rank is being phased out by Victoria
Police. Members will no longer be promoted to this rank,
although there are still a handful of members holding this rank. |
Superintendent
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Royal Blue background with one Bath Star
below a crown. |
Chief
Superintendent
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Royal Blue background with a single crown
mounted above two Bath Stars arranged along the epaulette.
This rank is being phased out by Victoria
Police. Members will no longer be promoted to this rank,
although there are still a handful of members holding this rank. |
Commander
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Royal Blue background with three Bath Stars
in a triangular arrangement, with a crown above. |
Assistant
Commissioner
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Royal Blue background with two crossed batons
surrounded by a laurel wreath. |
Deputy
Commissioner
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Royal Blue background with two crossed batons
surrounded by a laurel wreath, with a Bath Star above. |
Chief
Commissioner
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Royal Blue background with two crossed batons
surrounded by a laurel wreath, with a crown above.
The current Chief Commissioner of Police in Victoria
is Simon Overland. |
Minister
for Police and Emergency Services
Not strictly a rank of Victoria Police, the
Minister for Police and Emergency Services is appointed by the State
Government. They act as a parliamentary point-of-contact for the
police and emergency services.
The current Minister for Police and Emergency
Services is Bob Cameron.
Additional
Rank Insignia Markings
In addition to the standard Rank Insignia
listed above, there is also a variation to designate members who are
qualified for promotion to the next rank, but are yet to be promoted.
This can occur if a member has passed all the requirements for promotion to
the next rank, but for some reason is still waiting to advance.
Police members in this category wear the
insignia of their rank, but have an additional thin silver stripe running
across the epaulette near it's base.
Constable qualified for promotion to Snr Constable |
Senior Constable qualified for promotion to Sergeant |
Sergeant qualified for promotion to Senior Sergeant |
Senior Sergeant qualified for promotion to Inspector |
Upgrading
On occasion, experienced members may be
"upgraded" to a higher rank for a period of time. This is
done for a number of reasons. It allows the member to gain experience
at the higher rank, thus improving their chances of being selected for
promotion when they apply for a position. It also allows workplaces to
temporarily replace members of a higher rank when they are off on leave,
temporary duties etc etc.
When a member is upgraded, they still wear
the insignia of their actual rank, but they wear a name-tag which identifies
them as "Acting Sergeant", or "Acting Inspector"
etc. They should be addressed by the rank they are temporarily
holding.
For example, if a Senior Sergeant was
upgraded to Inspector you would then address them as "Sir" or
"Ma'am" instead of "Senior Sergeant".
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