Article Dashboard - July 17

http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Are-Press-Releases-Relevant-in-the-21st-Century-/916632
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/The-Best-Way-of-Writing-a-Press-Release-in-the-Net-Age/916630
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Knowing-Who-the-Audience-Are-For-Your-Press-Release/916627
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/The-Most-Effective-Way-to-Write-a-Press-Release-For-the-Web/916626
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Aiming-to-Be-a-Successful-Blogger---A-Reality-Check/916625

You have the factual reply - third rank up. In practical terms that means they would be in charge of a small team of officers responsible for a particular task - a response team (covering emergency response 24/7 on shifts) would have an Inspector in charge, a Community Safety Unit would have a Detective Inspector in charge and so on. They would normally be responsible for about 20-30 officers (though the number could vary quite widely and some specialist units may have far less) including 3-5 sergeants (who would each usually be responsible for 5-10 constables).

Inspectors would normally be the senior rank routinely on duty outside normal hours and responsible for routine functions.

Though three up from the bottom they are six (eight in the Met) down from the top ... so not that important or influential really!