Inspector General
Encyclopedia
An Inspector General is an investigative official
Official
An official is someone who holds an office in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority .A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public...

 in a civil or military organization
Military organization
Military organization is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer military capability required by the national defence policy. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation's armed forces...

. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.

Bangladesh

Chief of Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

 is known as Inspector General of Police (IGP). He is from Bangladesh Civil Service
Bangladesh Civil Service
Bangladesh Civil Service, more popularly known by its acronym BCS, is the elite civil service of the Government of Bangladesh. It originated from the Central Superior Services of Pakistan. Since independence it has been known by Act as Bangladesh Civil Service. The Bangladesh Public Service...

 (BCS) police cadre. Current IGP is Hassan Mahmud Khondokar, and immediate past IGP was Noor Mohammad. There is another temporary post of IGP, known as Poolish Shomonnoyok (Bangla: পুলিশ সমন্বয়ক) or Police Coordinator, currently held by Bivuti Vooshon Choudhury.

France

In the French Civil Service
French Civil Service
The French Civil Service is the set of civil servants working for the French government.Not all employees of the state and public institutions or corporations are civil servants; however, the media often incorrectly equate "government employee" or "employee of a public corporation" with...

, an inspector general (inspecteur général) is a member of a body of civil servants known as inspection générale, generally of a high level, charged with a nationwide mission to inspect some specific services and provide government officials with advice regarding that service. For example:
  • inspection générale des Finances
    General Inspection of Finances (France)
    The General Inspection of Finances or Inspection générale des finances is an interdepartemental auditing and supervisory body in France. Its general mission is to provide oversight, audit, analysis, consulting, and evaluation services in administrative, economic, and financial matters...

    (Ministry of Finances)
  • inspection générale de l'Éducation Nationale (Ministry of National Education: teaching issues)
  • inspection générale de l'administration de l'Éducation Nationale (Ministries of National Education and Research: administrative issues)
  • French National Police
    French National Police
    The National Police , formerly the Sûreté Nationale, is one of two national police forces and the main civil law enforcement agency of France, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. The other main agency is the military Gendarmerie, with primary jurisdiction in smaller towns and rural...

     "internal affairs
    Internal affairs (law enforcement)
    The internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...

    "
    • inspection générale de la Police Nationale (except Paris
      Paris
      Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

       and close suburbs)
    • inspection générale des services of the Prefecture of Police
      Prefecture of Police
      The Prefecture of Police , headed by the Prefect of Police , is an agency of the Government of France which provides the police force for the city of Paris and the surrounding three suburban départements of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Marne...

       (Paris
      Paris
      Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

       and surroundings).


The inspection générale des Finances is particularly prestigious as a job appointment after studies at the École Nationale d'Administration
École nationale d'administration
The École Nationale d'Administration , one of the most prestigious of French graduate schools , was created in 1945 by Charles de Gaulle to democratise access to the senior civil service. It is now entrusted with the selection and initial training of senior French officials...

. In recent decades, many of its members have occupied various high positions in lieu of their traditional mission of inspection. The corps has come under increased criticism for this.

India

In India the Inspector General of Police or Joint Commissioner of Police is a two-star rank officer and one of the senior most officers in the state police forces which usually head the police force in each city. All IGP/JCP are Indian Police Service (IPS)
Indian Police Service
The Indian Police Service , simply known as Indian Police or IPS, is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India...

 officers. They are in some states Commissioner of Police (City), that is they head a police force for a particular city and are awarded the tile of Commissioner of Police (City). The rank insignia of a Inspector General of Police or Joint Commissioner of Police is one star above crossed sword and baton.

Pakistan

In Pakistan, the Inspector General (IG
IG
IG, Ig, or ig may mean:Biology:*Immunoglobulin*Immature granulocytePlaces:*Ig, a town and a municipality in Slovenia*IG postcode area, a group of postcode districts around Ilford, EnglandTerms:...

) of Police or Provincial Police Officer
Inspector-General of Police
An inspector-general of police is a high-ranking police officer.-Ghana:In Ghana, inspector general of police is the title of the head of the Ghana Police Service.-India:...

 (PPO) or Inspector General of Prisons
Inspector General of Prisons
Inspector General of Prisons, IG Prisons or IG of Prisons is the highest rank in the provincial prison service, usually the provincial commanding and controlling officer and chief/head of all district, central, special and women jails/prisons, borstal institutions and remand homes in a province in...

 is a two-star police or prison officer who heads the police force or all prisons in a province The IG Police is usually a PSP
PSP
PSP most commonly refers to the PlayStation Portable, a handheld game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment.PSP may also refer to:-Computing and programming:*Corel Paint Shop Pro, a graphics editor...

 appointed by the federal government with consent of the provincial chief minister. The IG of Prisons is a provincial service officer selected/appointed from within the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons
Deputy Inspector General of Prisons
Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, DIG Prisons or DIG of Prisons is a high ranking official in the provincial prison service, usually the controlling officer or head of a region or circle of district, central, special and women jails/prisons, borstal institutions and remand homes within a...

 or Senior Superintendent of Jail of the respective province. The rank insignia of a Inspector General of Police or Inspector General of Prisons is national emblem or one pip containing national emblem above crossed sword and baton worn on both shoulder flashes.

Poland

The office (General Inspector of the Armed Forces
General Inspector of the Armed Forces
General Inspector of the Armed Forces was an office created in Poland in 1926. The General Inspector reported directly to the President, and was not responsible to the Sejm or the government. In the event of war, the General Inspector was to become the Commander-in-Chief.-See also:*Captain...

) also existed in the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...

 and was held, among others, by Józef Piłsudski.

Romania

In Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, Inspector General is the title given to the head of the Romanian Police
Romanian Police
The Romanian Police is the national police force and main civil law enforcement agency in Romania. It is subordinated to the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform.-Duties:The Romanian Police are responsible for:...

, Romanian Border Police
Romanian Border Police
The Romanian Border Police is the structure of the Romanian Ministry of Administration and Interior responsible for the border security and passport control at border crossing points, airports and ports.-Ranks:...

, Romanian Gendarmerie
Jandarmeria Româna
Jandarmeria Română is the military branch of the two Romanian police forces .The gendarmerie is subordinated to the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform and does not have responsibility for policing the Romanian Armed Forces...

  and the Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (whose central commands are called General Inspectorates).

Military

In the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 tradition, an inspector general is usually a senior military officer responsible for the inspection of military units to ensure that they meet appropriate standards of training and efficiency. Unlike American inspectors general, they do not usually have an investigative or law enforcement function.

For many years the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 maintained a post of Inspector General.

Police

The commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...

s of the Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...

 (and later of the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...

 until replaced by Chief Constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...

) and many Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 forces also bore the title of Inspector General of Police and it is still used in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and some other former British territories.

The Inspector General is also the name given to the Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

 of the Insolvency Service
Insolvency Service
The Insolvency Service is an executive agency of the United Kingdom's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which:* administers and investigates the affairs of bankrupts, of companies and partnerships wound up by the court, and establishes why they became insolvent;* acts as...

.

Inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...

and variants of it are rank titles of officers in the police of Britain and most Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 countries.

United States

In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, an Inspector General (IG) leads an organization charged with examining the actions of a government agency, military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 organization, or military contractor as a general auditor of their operations to ensure they are operating in compliance with generally established policies of the government, to audit the effectiveness of security procedures, or to discover the possibility of misconduct, waste
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...

, fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...

, theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...

, or certain types of criminal activity by individuals or groups related to the agency's operation, usually involving some misuse of the organization's funds or credit
Credit (finance)
Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide resources to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately , but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided may be financial Credit is the trust...

. In the United States, there are numerous Offices of Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General is an office that is part of Cabinet departments and independent agencies of the United States federal government as well as some state and local governments. Each office includes an Inspector General and employees charged with identifying, auditing, and...

 (OIGs) at the federal, state, and local levels.

Federal Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs)

There are 73 Federal OIGs, a significant increase since the statutory creation of the initial 12 OIGs by the Inspector General Act of 1978.
OIGs employ special agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....

s (criminal investigators, often armed) and auditors. In addition, federal OIGs employ forensic auditors, or "Audigators," evaluators, inspectors, administrative investigators, and a variety of other specialists. Their activities include the detection and prevention of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement of the government programs and operations within their parent organizations. OIG Investigations may be internal, targeting government employees, or external, targeting grant recipients, contractors, or recipients of the various loans and subsidies offered through the thousands of federal domestic and foreign assistance programs. The Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 (IGRA) amended the 1978 Act by increasing pay and various powers and creating the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE).

Some Inspectors General, the heads of the OIGs, are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. For example, both the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Inspector General of the U.S. Agency for International Development
Inspector General of the U.S. Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development's Inspector General, Donald A. Gambatesa, began his tenure on January 17, 2006. Appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he presides over the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Agency for International...

 are presidentially appointed. The remaining IGs are designated by their respective agency heads, such as the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General. Presidentially appointed IGs can only be removed, or terminated, from their positions by the President of the United States, whereas designated IGs can be terminated by the agency head. However, in both cases the Congress must be notified of the termination, removal, or reassignment.

While the IG Act of 1978 requires that IGs be selected based upon their qualifications and not political affiliation, Presidentially appointed IGs are considered political appointees and are often selected, if only in part and in addition to their qualifications, because of their political relationships and party affiliation. An example of the role political affiliation plays in the selection of an IG, and the resulting pitfalls, can be seen in the 2001 Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 appointment (and resignation under fire) of Janet Rehnquist
Janet Rehnquist
Janet Rehnquist , is a former inspector general of the United States Department of Health and Human Services , a prominent Republican, and the daughter of former Chief Justice William Rehnquist.-Resignation and controversy:...

 (daughter of conservative Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...

, William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...

) to the post of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
While all of the federal OIGs operate separate of one another, they share information and some coordination through the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE)
Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE)
The Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency is statutorily established as an independent entity within the United States executive branch by the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008) to address integrity, economy, and effectiveness issues that transcend individual Government...

. As of 2010, the CIGIE comprised 68 OIGs. In addition to their IG members, CIGIE includes non-IG representatives from the federal executive branch, such as executives from the Office of Management and Budget
United States Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget is a Cabinet-level office, and is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States .The current OMB Director is Jacob Lew.-History:...

, the Office of Personnel Management
Office of Personnel Management
The United States Office of Personnel Management is an independent agency of the United States government that manages the civil service of the federal government. The current Director is John Berry.-History:...

, the Office of Government Ethics, the Office of Special Counsel
United States Office of Special Counsel
The United States Office of Special Counsel is a permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose basic legislative authority comes from three federal statutes, the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act and the Hatch Act...

, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

 (FBI). CIGIE also provides specialized training to the IG community.

Further evidence of coordination between federal OIGs can be seen by the public through the OIGs' shared website, and the use of shared training facilities and resources, such as the IG Criminal Investigator Academy (IGCIA), and their Inspector General Community Auditor Training Team (IGCATS), which are hosted by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for 90 United States government federal law enforcement agencies.-Location:...

.

Evidence of the OIGs' return on investment to taxpayers can be seen through their Semi-annual Reports to Congress (SARC), most of which are available on each OIG's website.

Since the post-9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...

 enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, resulting in the amendment of the IG Act of 1978, Section 6e, most presidentially appointed IG special agents have had full law enforcement authority to carry firearms, make arrests, and execute search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....

s. Prior to this time, most presidentially appointed IG and some designated IG special agents had the equivalent law enforcement authorities as a result of other statutes or annually required deputation by the U.S. Marshals Service. The 2002 amendment to the IG Act of 1978 made most deputation of presidentially appointed IG special agents unnecessary. Some designated IG special agents, however, still have full law enforcement authority today by virtue of this continued deputation. Some OIGs employ no criminal investigators and rely solely on administrative investigators, auditors, and inspectors.

U.S. Offices of Inspector General

Presidentially Appointed Inspectors General
Designated Federal Entity Inspectors General
Special Inspectors General
Legislative Agency Inspectors General
Other Federal Inspectors General
  • Director of National Intelligence, Office of (ODNI-OIG)

U.S. Military

Within the United States Armed Forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

, the position of Inspector General is normally part of the personal staff serving a general or flag officer in a command position. The Inspector General's office functions in two ways. To a certain degree they are ombudsmen for their branch of service. However, their primary function is to insure the combat readiness of subordinate units in their command.

An armed services inspector general also investigate noncriminal allegations and some specific criminal allegations, to include determining if the matter should be referred for criminal investigation by the service's criminal investigative agency.

The Air Force Inspector General (IG) Complaints Program, described in the Airman's Guide by Boone Nicolls, was established to address the concerns of Air Force active duty, reserve, and Guard members, civilian employees, family members, and retirees, as well as the interest of the Air Force. One of the first responsibilities of the Air Force IG is to operate a credible complaints program that investigates personnel complaints: Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (FWA) allegations; congressional inquiries; and issues involving the Air Force mission. Personnel complaints and FWA disclosures to the IG help commanders correct problems that affect the productivity, mission accomplishment, and morale of assigned personnel, which are areas of high concern to Air Force leaders at all levels.

See
  • Naval Inspector General
    Naval Inspector General
    The Office of Naval Inspector General for the United States Navy was established during World War Two to make invistigations as directed by the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations...

    , established by the U.S. Navy in 1942.
  • Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense
    Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense
    The Department of Defense Inspector General is an independent, objective agency that provides oversight related to the programs and operations of the Department of Defense...

     established 1978.

Germany

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Colonel General Heinz Guderian
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...

 was appointed Inspector General of Armoured Troops on 1 March 1943, reporting directly to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

.

Since the reestablishment of the German armed forces after World War II, the Inspector General of the Federal Armed Forces (Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr) is the highest-ranking soldier, responsible for the overall military planning and the principal military advisor of the Federal Minister of Defense and the Federal Government. Head of the Command Staff of the Armed Forces (Führungsstab der Streitkräfte), his position is broadly equivalent to that of the American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...

.

In the German federal police (Bundespolizei), the highest-ranking police officer is called inspector of the federal police as well, although this position is a more coordinating than commanding one. For all state alert police services there also exists an inspector (Inspekteur der Bereitschaftspolizeien der Länder). Even every of the sixteen German state police departements has an inspector, as the highest-ranking police officer. The state police presidents are normally not police officers. They are administration officials. The competence for police services in Germany is assigned to the federal states of Germany. The federal police is a coordinating police département with only a few competences, e.g. in border control or airport and trail security.

In the scope of responsibility of the state police departements the federal police can only act with permission or request of the local state police.

Vatican City

In the Vatican City State, the Inspector General is the commanding officer of the state police force, the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City
Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City
The Corpo della Gendarmeria dello Stato della Città del Vaticano is the gendarmerie, or police and security force, of Vatican City. The corps is responsible for security, public order, border control, traffic control, criminal investigation, and other general police duties in Vatican City...

. He is also the chief bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...

 for the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

, and accompanies the pontiff when he visits foreign countries.

External links

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