Courage, Initiative, Integrity, Professionalism, Accountability

Rank Structure

The San Andreas State Police is run as a community policing model. All sworn members start at the lowest rank of Probationary Trooper / Trooper. Promotion beyond Senior Trooper is highly competitive. The following ranks are listed lowest to highest from left as set out in 2018.

Troopers

All grades of Trooper perform the same basic range of duties, with the rank only reflecting experience. The rank of Probationary Trooper is held for the first month of service. Following the first month of satisfactory service and on completion of the Field Training and Assessment Program and other required educational needs, the Probationary Trooper is confirmed to the rank of Trooper.

Promotion to the rank of Senior Trooper can be obtained after two to three months of service and requires the Trooper to pass an examination that covers a broad area of policing knowledge. Incremental Senior Trooper is obtained after four-five months of service. Senior Troopers of all grades are referred to as either "Senior Trooper" or "Senior".

Leading Senior Trooper is a rank that identifies a Trooper in a "Management in Training" role and belongs to a specific unit or duty type of which there is a limited number with progression to such being competitive and non-transferable. If an LST transfers from a unit or duty type (such as from highway patrol to general duties or vice versa) they revert to their original Senior Trooper rank. To be eligible for LST shall have a minimum of six months of service, be of the rank of Senior Trooper and undergo a number of tests and selection processes in competition with other applicants.
 

Non-Commissioned Officers

Promotion to the rank of Sergeant and beyond is achieved by way of a "merit-based" promotion system, whereby officers undertake a series of "pre-qualification assessments" and are placed on a ranked list before gaining promotion. Officers who qualify for a promotion list are given an eligibility mark and are ranked according to the order of merit from the highest mark to the lowest.

Sergeant normally supervises a team of Troopers during a shift. A Detective Sergeant is normally in charge of a team in a specific part of either a Police Area Command detectives' office or a specialist squad in the State Crime Command. 
 

The Incremental Sergeant is not a rank, instead, it means that the sergeant wears a small crown above the chevrons indicating that they have reached the highest step in the rank of Sergent. A period such as a Year of Service as a Sergeant. 
 

Senior sergeants are generally attached to "regions" as region training coordinators, region traffic coordinators, region operations coordinator positions or in legal services, professional standards, protocol, and education services and perform middle-management duties.

Sergeants and Incremental Sergeants are referred to as "Sergeant"; Senior Sergeants are referred to as "Senior Sergeant".

Commissioned Officers

All completing at least 3 months as a Senior Sergeant (but usually more), and the relevant assessments including an exam and interview. Once an officer completes this they may be elevated to the rank of "Inspector". Commissioned officers may be acknowledged by the rank they hold or, more commonly, as "sir", "ma'am" or "boss" ("boss" is usually used as a term of endearment for officers that are respected by the subordinate rank).

An Inspector oversees Sergeants and teams of Trooper and traditionally performs more administrative work, micromanagement of the team, coordination of policing operations or specialist work. At Police Area Commands, an Inspector is allocated to each shift as a "Duty Officer" who oversees the general running of the Police Station (more often than not their tasks and roles are delegated to the supervising Sergeants on shift).

Superintendents are usually "Commanders" of Police Area Commands or specialist units. 

Assistant Commissioners are generally "Commanders" of Regions or Commands.

As of 2018, the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner had been dispensed with. Officers currently holding that rank will retain it until retiring or upon promotion to a higher rank.