Editing Chief constable (section)

==History==
The title is derived from the original local [[parish constable]]s of the 18th century and earlier. ''[[Constable]]'' and ''[[constabulary]]'' were terms adopted in an attempt to provide a historical link with the older forces – the term is derived from the Latin ''comes stabuli'' (keeper of the stables)<ref>{{cite book|title=The Principles of Policing, p. 7|author     =  Pike, Michael S|publisher=The Macmillan Press Ltd|year=1985|isbn= 0-333-38245-5}}</ref> – and to emphasise local control. Much of the debate about policing in the early 19th century, when modern police forces were introduced in the [[United Kingdom]], concerned fears that the new forces might become [[paramilitary]] agents of central government control. To this day other [[UK police ranks|British police ranks]], such as [[inspector]] and [[Superintendent (police)|superintendent]], are determinedly non-paramilitary &ndash; only police [[sergeant]]s hold a quasi-military rank and even then the term sergeant had long existed as a non-military officer of subordinate rank.

The [[County Police Act 1839]] gave the counties of [[England and Wales]] the opportunity to establish full-time police forces, headed by a chief constable who was appointed by the [[justices of the peace]] of the county. The first county to implement this was [[Wiltshire Constabulary]], which appointed [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[Samuel Meredith (police officer)|Samuel Meredith]] [[Royal Navy|RN]] its first chief constable on 28 November 1839.<ref>[http://www.wiltshire.police.uk/history/1839.asp Wiltshire Constabulary History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218212229/https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/history/1839.asp |date=18 December 2007 }}, Wiltshire Police website</ref> Other counties followed this pattern; for instance, [[Essex]] appointed its first chief constable on 11 February 1840.<ref>[http://www.essex.police.uk/offbeat/o_mu_25.php The Making of a Chief Constable] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927092346/http://www.essex.police.uk/offbeat/o_mu_25.php |date=27 September 2007 }}, Essex Police website</ref>

Originally, most borough police forces were commanded by a [[head constable]], although this rank was superseded by chief constable in most forces in the later 19th century and early 20th century and was almost completely abolished by the [[Police Act 1919]]. [[Liverpool City Police]] was the only large force to retain it until then.

The first woman to hold the rank of chief constable was Pauline Clare, appointed Chief Constable of the [[Lancashire Constabulary]] on 14 June 1995.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/first-woman-chief-constable-is-appointed-1586466.html|title=First woman chief constable is appointed|work=The Independent|date=15 June 1995}}</ref>