UK Police Officer Annual Salary 2023-24
What are the latest salaries for police officers in the UK in 2023? This page provides the answers in one place, with how much officers earn as they progress through the ranks. This covers all forces across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the tables below also including the Metropolitan Police London weightings.
Police officers generally seek promotion to leave a larger legacy, develop their career and have greater impact through leadership. However, the additional income helps, while with great responsibility comes a greater reward package. This page may be useful for those wanting promotion to Sergeant, Inspector and Chief Inspector (aka Federated ranks) to get a feel for the difference in remuneration. It can be an additional motivator and shows that investment in your CPD to succeed will be worth every penny! Here I've collated all UK officer salaries in one place for the reader's convenience.
Investing in your future: When considering the return on your investment, Rank Success masterclasses, downloadable guides and coaching offer tremendous value for money. See a comparison below of raw average salary alone. Note that the following information doesn't take account of factors like the additional police pension, overtime or other benefits received at higher ranks. Graphs depict basic salary range and percentage increase in average through the Federated ranks. Tables show all bands.
Police officers generally seek promotion to leave a larger legacy, develop their career and have greater impact through leadership. However, the additional income helps, while with great responsibility comes a greater reward package. This page may be useful for those wanting promotion to Sergeant, Inspector and Chief Inspector (aka Federated ranks) to get a feel for the difference in remuneration. It can be an additional motivator and shows that investment in your CPD to succeed will be worth every penny! Here I've collated all UK officer salaries in one place for the reader's convenience.
Investing in your future: When considering the return on your investment, Rank Success masterclasses, downloadable guides and coaching offer tremendous value for money. See a comparison below of raw average salary alone. Note that the following information doesn't take account of factors like the additional police pension, overtime or other benefits received at higher ranks. Graphs depict basic salary range and percentage increase in average through the Federated ranks. Tables show all bands.
PC to SGT: £15,000 / year
SGT to INS: £10,000 / year
INS to C.INS: £5,000 / year
SGT to INS: £10,000 / year
INS to C.INS: £5,000 / year
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England & Wales Police Officer Salaries 2023-24
Latest England & Wales officer salary info is effective from 1 September 2023, following the PRRB recommended 7% increase in all police pay scales up to ACC. This was after an average 5% (£1,900) pay increase for September 2022, 0% (!) in 2021, and 2.5% in both 2020 and 2019. Officers receive two pay rises per year until they reach the top of the pay scale: an increment to the next point of the pay scale, plus the effect of any increase negotiated by the PFEW to the pay scale itself.
Some forces (e.g. Metropolitan Police) provide additional allowances and salary relating to cost of living in those areas, beyond the basic salary shown below. The Met have also announced they will pay an additional £1,000 upon each pay point and £100 pcm for officers once they have completed their initial training. Generally, officers progress to the next PP upon each year of service, for example it takes 7 years for Constables to reach the top of the band at £46,044. The other ranks are shorter and quicker to progress through. As shown in the graph below, the UK average salary in 2022 is just under £32k, which officers currently exceed when reaching 4 years' service. In the table, 'PP(L)' means 'Pay Point (London)'.
Some forces (e.g. Metropolitan Police) provide additional allowances and salary relating to cost of living in those areas, beyond the basic salary shown below. The Met have also announced they will pay an additional £1,000 upon each pay point and £100 pcm for officers once they have completed their initial training. Generally, officers progress to the next PP upon each year of service, for example it takes 7 years for Constables to reach the top of the band at £46,044. The other ranks are shorter and quicker to progress through. As shown in the graph below, the UK average salary in 2022 is just under £32k, which officers currently exceed when reaching 4 years' service. In the table, 'PP(L)' means 'Pay Point (London)'.
POLICE CONSTABLE |
SERGEANT |
INSPECTOR |
CHIEF INSPECTOR |
PP0 - Removed |
PP1 - Removed |
PP0 - £58,422 |
PP1 - £64,449 |
PP1 - £28,551 |
PP2 - £49,077 |
PP1 - £60,015 |
PP2 - £65,703 |
PP2 - £29,751 |
PP3 - £50,079 |
PP2 - £61,602 |
PP3 - £67,017 |
PP3 - £30,957 |
PP4 - £51,498 |
PP3 - £63,198 |
- |
PP4 - £32,163 |
- |
PP(L)0 - £60,891 |
PP(L)1 - £66,936 |
PP5 - £34,575 |
- |
PP(L)1 - £62,487 |
PP(L)2 - £68,187 |
PP6 - £39,432 |
- |
PP(L)2 - £64,089 |
PP(L)3 - £69,498 |
PP7 - £46,044 |
- |
PP(L)3 - £65,688 |
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Police Scotland Officer Salaries 2023-24
Police Scotland officers now start at £30k and exceed the national average salary within a year. The latest Police Scotland officer salaries were agreed in September 2023, for which the pay scales were bumped up by 7% and backdated to April 2023. This followed a 5% increase in the 2022 negotiations.
This 7% increase is of course in addition to the usual 3%-5% or so increase officers experience each year, as they progress through the Pay Points (PP) within each rank, until reaching the top of the band. Read more about Police Scotland salaries, including Chief Officer pay.
Officers in Scotland are immediately better off than other forces, and exceed the UK average salary within just 2 years of service. Conversely, it takes longer to reach the top of the officer pay scale at the Constable rank. Sergeants are now comfortably beyond the higher 42% tax bracket (currently set at £43k in Scotland), and Chief Inspectors peak at nearly £67k after four years.
This 7% increase is of course in addition to the usual 3%-5% or so increase officers experience each year, as they progress through the Pay Points (PP) within each rank, until reaching the top of the band. Read more about Police Scotland salaries, including Chief Officer pay.
Officers in Scotland are immediately better off than other forces, and exceed the UK average salary within just 2 years of service. Conversely, it takes longer to reach the top of the officer pay scale at the Constable rank. Sergeants are now comfortably beyond the higher 42% tax bracket (currently set at £43k in Scotland), and Chief Inspectors peak at nearly £67k after four years.
POLICE CONSTABLE |
SERGEANT |
INSPECTOR |
CHIEF INSPECTOR |
PP0 - £30,039 |
PP1 - £49,059 |
PP1 - £59,629 |
PP1 - £67,222 |
PP1 - £32,685 |
PP2 - £49,878 |
PP2 - £61,287 |
PP2 - £68,594 |
PP2 - £35,331 |
PP3 - £50,923 |
PP3 - £62,949 |
PP3 - £70,445 |
PP3 - £37,441 |
PP4 - £52,402 |
PP4 - £64,610 |
PP4 - £71,553 |
PP4 - £38,593 |
PP5 - £53,926 |
PP5 - £66,134 |
- |
PP5 - £39,813 |
- |
- |
- |
PP6 - £40,926 |
- |
- |
- |
PP7 - £41,913 |
- |
- |
- |
PP8 - £43,913 |
- |
- |
- |
PP9 - £45,803 |
- |
- |
- |
PP10 - £46,713 |
- |
- |
- |
PP11 - £48,236 |
- |
- |
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Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) Officer Salaries 2022-23
The latest 2023 salary information for PSNI is effective from 1 September 2022, following the recently-approved pay award of £1900 (approx. 5% increase). This is a more progressive approach to salary increases, because it better targets those at the lower end, equating to a 9% increase for new joiners at the lowest paid points. Still, the increase means the basic + allowance salaries of experienced Sergeants and above all now reside within the higher tax bracket. Working overtime can help officers at PC and Sergeant level far exceed this.
Officers will progress to the next Pay Point (PP) upon each year of service. PP1(a) refers to commencement as trainee, PP1(b) upon commencement as a probationary constable (source). Note that the basic salary information excludes the supplementary allowances given to all officers on top of basic. For example, the Competency Related Threshold Payments (CRTP) of £1.2k is paid to officers the year after reaching top PP, while the PSNI 'Transitional Allowance' of £3.6k is paid throughout. That means you can in practical terms add £3.6k to all the below figures, then another £1.2k for those at the top pay point (PP).
For context, both 2019 and 2020 pay reviews resulted in a 2.5% pay increase across all Federated officer PPs, with the latter also increasing the initial salary of Sergeants for newly promoted officers. There was no increase in 2021. The core salary structure is similar to England & Wales forces, with the biggest jump coming for those making their first move into a formal police leadership position. Notably, the £23.3k salary for a new PSNI trainee is the same as it was in 2013, but in the longer term, policing as a career clearly compares favourably to UK average wages; especially for promotion.
Officers will progress to the next Pay Point (PP) upon each year of service. PP1(a) refers to commencement as trainee, PP1(b) upon commencement as a probationary constable (source). Note that the basic salary information excludes the supplementary allowances given to all officers on top of basic. For example, the Competency Related Threshold Payments (CRTP) of £1.2k is paid to officers the year after reaching top PP, while the PSNI 'Transitional Allowance' of £3.6k is paid throughout. That means you can in practical terms add £3.6k to all the below figures, then another £1.2k for those at the top pay point (PP).
For context, both 2019 and 2020 pay reviews resulted in a 2.5% pay increase across all Federated officer PPs, with the latter also increasing the initial salary of Sergeants for newly promoted officers. There was no increase in 2021. The core salary structure is similar to England & Wales forces, with the biggest jump coming for those making their first move into a formal police leadership position. Notably, the £23.3k salary for a new PSNI trainee is the same as it was in 2013, but in the longer term, policing as a career clearly compares favourably to UK average wages; especially for promotion.
POLICE CONSTABLE |
SERGEANT |
INSPECTOR |
CHIEF INSPECTOR |
PP1(a) - £23,343 |
PP1 - Removed |
PP0 - £54,598 |
PP1 - £60,232 |
PP1(b) - £26,682 |
PP2 - £45,865 |
PP1 - £56,086 |
PP2 - £61,402 |
PP2 - £27,804 |
PP3 - £46,801 |
PP2 - £57,571 |
PP3 - £62,632 |
PP3 - £28,932 |
PP4 - £48,127 |
PP3 - £59,062 |
- |
PP4 - £30,060 |
- |
- |
- |
PP5 - £32,313 |
- |
- |
- |
PP6 - £36,852 |
- |
- |
- |
PP7 - £43,032 |
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