Senior police officers roles in the UK earn a median of £71,500 per year, equivalent to £33.38 per hour as of 2025. Pay increased 14.0% compared to the previous year. Regionally, pay ranges from £63,500 in South West to £86,500 in East Midlands. Pay has risen over the past 4 years. The ONS national median for this occupation is £66,690/yr (7% above our computed national average).
Median Annual Pay
£71,500
as of 2025
High confidenceMedian Hourly Pay
£33.38
per hour
Year-on-Year Change
+14.0%
vs 2024
Annual Pay Range
£71,500 – £73,000
25th – 75th percentile
UK Employment (2024)
~13,000
estimated employees
24 of 180 areas not disclosed by ONS
Employment Change
2021–2024
2021: ~20,000 → 2024: ~13,000
Market Signal
Pay growthPay is growing with broadly stable employment.
Employment figures from ONS Annual Population Survey (APS). Counts are estimates; suppressed cells (small samples) are excluded from totals.
Median annual pay for Senior police officers across UK regions.
Source: ONS ASHE. Based on broad UK regions (NUTS1).
| Region | Median Pay |
|---|---|
| East Midlands | £86,500 |
| London | £86,000 |
| South East | £70,000 |
| West Midlands | £69,500 |
| Wales | £69,500 |
| North East | £69,000 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £68,500 |
| Scotland | £67,500 |
| North West | £65,500 |
| South West | £63,500 |
| UK | £71,500 |
Annual pay grew by +14.0% from 2024 to 2025.
National average (NUTS1 actuals) based on ONS ASHE April snapshot.
Annual percentage change in median pay for Senior police officers.
Percentage change from the prior year's April figure.
For job seekers
Check your salary against official UK data for Senior police officers roles — broken down by region and seniority level. Free, instant, no sign-up required.
For employers & recruiters
Senior police officers plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the resources and activities of a specific geographical or functional area of generalised or specialised police work. Senior officers of the British Transport Police direct the specialised police service for the railway network across Britain.
Promotion to the rank of inspector can be by qualifying examination and practical assessment. There are no qualifying examinations to ranks above inspector; promotion is by selection only. There are accelerated promotion schemes available as well as the Direct Entry scheme which recruits external entrants with relevant skills directly to senior positions in the police force. All police forces have age restrictions and medical requirements.
Salary data is sourced from official UK pay datasets and updated periodically.