Introduction
Early chief constables
"A fit man to be at the head of the police" : police superintendents and watch committees in the first generation of "new policing" : a Yorkshire perspective, c.1850-1870 / David Taylor
The best chief constable in the kingdom? : recruitment and retention problems in an early English county constabulary / David J. Cox
Early chief constables in Scotland : policing the city and the county / David Smale
The Irish inspectors general, 1838-1916 : leading Dublin castle's constabulary "machine" / Elizabeth Malcolm
Chief constables and their forces
Chief constables as "moral heroes" and guardians of public morality / Kim Stevenson
"A nonconformist must be chief constable" : the historical challenges of policing in rural Wales / Richard W. Ireland
"The best police officer in the force" : chief constables and their men, 1900-1939 / Joanne Klein
"A nice old boy" : characterizing the chief constable role in detective fiction c.1890-1960 / Judith Rowbotham
What the met brought to the party : reinforcement, colonization, specialization and fusion / Robert M. Morris
Chief constables and public order : tensions between discretion and consistency / Iain Channing Section 3: Twentieth Century Chief Constables
Pioneering women police chiefs : a tale of conflict and cooperation / Marisa Silvestri
Leading through conflict and change : chief constables in Northern Ireland / Joanne Murphy
"Seirbheis phoilis na h-alba" police Scotland : the rationalization of chief constables / Gareth Addidle
Chief constables after pace 1985-2016 : the decline of a professional elite / Timothy Brain
Conclusion.