Inspector

Inspector is a rank in many police forces. However, it is not the same (equivalent) rank in each:

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• in the San Francisco police department, Inspector is the lowest rank of detective (below sergeant). The SFPD's original rank of Inspector (which was the same as most other US police department ranks with that name) was changed to Commander, since SFPD senior officers preferred the more military-sounding title.
• in most other American police departments, Inspector can refer to a single grade, or a broad category of grades, immediately above Captain; placing the title "Deputy" in front of "Inspector" denotes a junior rank within the segment, while the use of "Chief" signifies higher standing therein (a "Deputy Chief Inspector" would be next below a Chief Inspector and next above an Inspector; thus up to four grades within the category can exist).
• in the British police, Inspector is the rank senior to Sergeant and junior to Chief Inspector. Contrary to popular belief, inspectors are not all detectives; in fact, the majority of inspectors are uniformed. Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inspectors are known as Detective Inspectors (DI). Many former British Colonial police forces also use the rank. A UK Inspector is approximately equivalent to a lieutenant in other police forces (such as in the US).
• in the French Police Nationale, an Inspector (Inspecteur) is a detective.
• in the Police forces of India, an Inspector is a Police Officer ranking above a Sub-Inspector and below a Deputy Superindentent. Inspectors generally command major police stations, or a group of police stations, known as Police circles (hence the popularly used abbreviation CI or Circle Inspector). Inspectors working in plain clothes units can use the prefix Detective along with their ranks.