Deputy chief constable is the second highest rank in all territorial police forces

Policing in the United Kingdom

Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland ....

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 (except the Metropolitan Police

Metropolitan Police Service

The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...

, in which the equivalent rank is deputy assistant commissioner

Deputy Assistant Commissioner

Deputy assistant commissioner is a rank in London's Metropolitan Police Service between assistant commissioner and commander. It is equivalent to deputy chief constable in other British police forces and wears the same insignia: a pip above crossed tipstaves within a wreath.The rank was introduced...

, and City of London Police

City of London Police

The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, England, including the Middle and Inner Temple. The service responsible for law enforcement within the rest of Greater London is the Metropolitan Police Service, a separate...

, in which the equivalent rank is assistant commissioner

Assistant Commissioner

Assistant commissioner is a rank used in many police forces across the globe. It is also a rank used in revenue administrations in many countries.-Australia:...

), as well as the British Transport Police

British Transport Police

The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...

, Ministry of Defence Police

Ministry of Defence Police

The Ministry of Defence Police is a civilian police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The force is part of the larger government agency, the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency , together with the Ministry of Defence Guard Service...

 and Civil Nuclear Constabulary

Civil Nuclear Constabulary

The Civil Nuclear Constabulary is a special police force responsible for providing law enforcement and security at civil nuclear installations, and for nuclear materials in transit, throughout the United Kingdom....

. The Isle of Man Constabulary

Isle of Man Constabulary

The Isle of Man Constabulary is the organisation responsible for policing the Isle of Man, an island of 80,000 inhabitants situated equidistant from Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.-Structures and Deployment:...

 also has a DCC.

Until 2006, each force could only have one DCC, who would normally be second-in-command to the chief constable

Chief Constable

Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...

. However, Schedule 2 of the Police and Justice Act 2006

Police and Justice Act 2006

The Police and Justice Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. As at August 2007 many of the provisions are not yet in force...

 amended the Police Act 1996 to permit more than one DCC within each force. However, as yet no force has had more than one DCC at any one time.

The DCC ranks above the assistant chief constable

Assistant Chief Constable

Assistant chief constable is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces , as well as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and...

s. The role of the DCC varies from force to force. In some smaller forces (usually those with only a single ACC or no ACC), they take responsibility for territorial policing, but in most forces the role covers corporate functions including professional standards.

The rank of deputy chief constable was abolished on 1 April 1995 following recommendations made in the Sheehy Report, except for officers already holding the rank, although most forces continued to designate one of the ACCs as "designated deputy" to the chief constable. The Home Office

Home Office

The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...

 officially reintroduced the rank on 1 January 2002.

Insignia

The rank badge worn by a DCC consists of a bath star ("pip") over crossed tipstaves within a wreath, similar to the insignia of a major-general in the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

.