Police Inspector Salary: Official Pay Scales for 2025/26

If you are considering a career as a police inspector or are already serving and want to understand your pay, the latest official figures from GOV.UK provide a clear picture. The police inspector salary for England and Wales is set out in Annex F of the Police Regulations 2003, with an amendment effective from 1 September 2025. This article explains the annual salaries, how to convert them to hourly rates, and the impact of London weighting.

Annual Salary Ranges for Inspectors

Inspectors are paid on a scale with four pay points (0 to 3), with progression typically occurring annually subject to satisfactory performance. The figures below are from the official GOV.UK determination.

Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police

Pay Point	Annual Salary (from 1 Sept 2025)
0	£66,462
1	£68,202
2	£69,954
3	£71,697

Other Police Forces in England and Wales

Pay Point	Annual Salary (from 1 Sept 2025)
0	£63,768
1	£65,505
2	£67,236
3	£68,982

These figures are the base salary. Officers in the Metropolitan Police or City of London also receive London weighting of £3,150 per year, bringing the total gross pay for a top-of-scale inspector to £74,847.

Converting Annual Salary to Hourly Rate

To understand your take-home pay or compare with other roles, you may want to convert the annual police inspector salary to an hourly rate. The standard working week for police officers is 40 hours, but the official calculation uses 2,086.67 hours per year (40 hours × 52.14 weeks). The formula for part-time officers is given as annual salary × 6 ÷ 12,520, which is mathematically equivalent.

For a full-time inspector on the top pay point in the Met (£71,697), the hourly rate is approximately:

£71,697 ÷ 2,086.67 ≈ £34.37 per hour

For an inspector in another force on the top pay point (£68,982), the hourly rate is approximately:

£68,982 ÷ 2,086.67 ≈ £33.06 per hour

These rates are higher than the UK median full-time gross hourly pay of around £20.02 (based on the on-site reference for 2026/27) and well above the National Living Wage of £12.71 per hour for workers aged 21 and over.

London Weighting and Its Effect

London weighting is an additional £3,150 per year for officers in the Metropolitan Police and City of London. This is added to the base salary before deductions for income tax, National Insurance, and pension. However, the GOV.UK determination states that any allowance calculated by reference to a member’s pay should be calculated as if this part had not been made. In practice, this means London weighting does not increase pensionable pay for certain allowances.

For part-time officers, the hourly rate is increased by a proportional amount: the sum obtained by multiplying 6/12,520 by £3,150, which adds roughly £1.51 per hour.

Overtime and Additional Payments

Inspectors and above are salaried ranks and do not normally receive paid overtime. This is a key difference from constables and sergeants, who are entitled to overtime at time-and-a-third for rest-day working and double time for bank holidays. Some forces may offer time off in lieu for inspectors who work beyond their contracted hours, but there is no national entitlement.

Part-Time Inspectors

Part-time inspectors have their pay calculated using the hourly rate formula. For example, a part-time Met inspector on pay point 3 would have an hourly rate of £71,697 × 6 ÷ 12,520 = £34.37. They are paid for each hour worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per week. Annual leave pay is based on 8 times the hourly rate per day, reduced in proportion to their contracted hours.

Comparison with Other Public Sector Roles

To put the police inspector salary in context, the NHS pay scales for 2026/27 (effective 1 April 2026) show a Band 1 hourly rate of £12.92, while a consultant doctor would earn significantly more. Teachers’ pay scales vary by region and experience, but a classroom teacher in England typically earns between £30,000 and £46,000. Police inspectors are therefore among the higher-paid public sector professionals, reflecting the responsibility and unsocial hours of the role.

How to Use This Information

If you are applying for a role or considering a transfer, use our Hourly to Salary tool to estimate your annual equivalent. You can also explore salary articles for comparisons with other professions. Remember that actual take-home pay depends on pension contributions (12.44% for the CARE 2015 scheme), income tax, and National Insurance. The personal allowance for 2026/27 is £12,570, and the basic income tax rate is 20%.

Future Pay Awards

The 2026/27 pay award for police officers is expected to be 3.5% from 1 September 2026, according to estimates from employerscalculators.co.uk, but this has not yet been confirmed by GOV.UK. Always check official sources for the most up-to-date figures.

Summary

The police inspector salary in England and Wales ranges from £63,768 to £71,697 depending on force and pay point, with an additional £3,150 London weighting for Met and City officers. Hourly rates are around £33–£34 for full-time inspectors. Inspectors are salaried and do not receive overtime, but the pay reflects the seniority and demands of the role. For part-time officers, the hourly rate is calculated using a specific formula. Use the official GOV.UK scales as your primary reference and consult your force’s HR department for personalised calculations.