Suzy asked David Putnam:

Hello, I am writing a series that takes place in the 1920's, and am having trouble naming my police characters due to their ranks. One of the reoccurring characters has the title "Chief" and the other lower-ranking one is "Deputy." I am not sure if these rankings are suitable based on the time period and the amount of work each character does? Chief helps out my mc solve cases, and bosses around Deputy/other officers.

David Putnam It depends on the the department and the size. Is it a county agency or a municipal police agency? This makes a big difference. In the Sheriff's department (in a small department) there is a Sheriff and the rest are deputies. In a large sheriff department there is a Sheriff, an undersheriff, assistant sheriffs, (sometimes commanders), Capt, Lt. sgts. cpl. deputies.
City police dept. (Small) have Chief, capt, Lt. couple of sergeants the rest officers or detectives.
If you give me the location and the population of the town or city I can help you with the size and the ranks and their duties. :-)

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