Identifying New Roles and Responsibilities for the Inspector within a Provincial Constabulary: Results of a Job Analysis

Abstract

With the advent of structural and organisational changes within the police forces of England and Wales, the role of Inspector has been the subject of critical rethinking. In order to review this police rank within one provincial police force, a job analysis was conducted into the present and desired future role and responsibilities of the uniformed Inspector. Methods used included interviews, task activity analyses, role repertory grids and content analyses of existing job descriptions. Results revealed a lack of clear role definition as presently conceived and differences between senior and more junior officers in their assessments of appropriate levels of functioning for the Inspector. Differences also emerged in views about the deployment of Inspectors as generalists based on territorial deployment or as functional specialists. Some resolution of these differences was attempted and formalised into a proposed new job definition.