Editing Constable (section)

===United Kingdom===
{{main|Police ranks of the United Kingdom|Special Constabulary|War Reserve Constable}}
[[File:Met PC Epaulette.svg|thumb|upright|An [[epaulette]] showing an officer's divisional code (DF) and individual number.]]
[[File:Very friendly MPS officers in London.jpg|thumb|Police officers in the United Kingdom are holders of the office of constable.]]
There are two main definitions of a constable in the United Kingdom:
*The lowest rank of a police force.
*A legal term for an officer with [[Powers of the police in England and Wales|the powers of a police officer]].
The latter usage is mainly in formal contexts, including legislation such as the [[Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984]]. By this definition all police officers are constables, even those that do not hold the actual rank of constable. The head of most police forces is a [[chief constable]], volunteer officers of any rank are known as [[Special Constabulary|special constables]], and some police forces have the word "Constabulary" in their name.