Police Chief Officer Salaries

£120,489 – £330,465
Effective 1 September 2025 — PRRB chief officer rates (Annex F)
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Chief Officer Pay (by rank and force group)

RankSalary
Assistant Chief Constable / Commander£120,489 – £135,756 (3 points)
Deputy Chief Constable — Group 3 forces£149,799
Deputy Chief Constable — Group 2 forces£165,537
Deputy Chief Constable — Group 1 forces£190,737
Chief Constable — Group 3 forces£181,575
Chief Constable — Group 2 forces£200,652
Chief Constable — Group 1 forces£231,198
Met: Deputy Assistant Commissioner£190,737
Met: Assistant Commissioner£231,198
Met: Deputy Commissioner£273,192
Met: Commissioner£330,465
City of London: Assistant Commissioner£169,668
City of London: Commissioner£205,248

Chief officer ranks sit above Chief Superintendent: Assistant Chief Constable (called Commander in the Met and City), Deputy Chief Constable, and Chief Constable — with the Met's equivalent ladder running DAC → Assistant Commissioner → Deputy Commissioner → Commissioner.

Chief officer pay is set by the PRRB's chief officer award (Annex F). ACC/Commander has a 3-point scale; DCC and CC are single rates that vary by force group — forces are grouped 1–3 by size and budget, so the Chief Constable of a Group 1 force (the largest, e.g. West Midlands, Greater Manchester) earns £231,198 while a Group 3 force CC earns £181,575.

The Met Commissioner (£330,465) is the highest-paid police officer in the UK. Note the deliberate symmetry: a Met Assistant Commissioner is paid the same as a Group 1 Chief Constable (£231,198), and a Met DAC the same as a Group 1 DCC (£190,737).

Take-home at these levels is dominated by tax structure: every chief officer salary sits above the £100,000 personal-allowance taper (fully tapered above £125,140), the 45% additional rate applies above £125,140, and PPS 2015 contributions run at 13.78%. The calculator models all of this — an ACC on Pay Point 1 (£120,489) takes home around £69,700; the Met Commissioner around £161,900.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a Chief Constable earn?
It depends on force group: £181,575 (Group 3 — smaller forces), £200,652 (Group 2), or £231,198 (Group 1 — the largest forces such as West Midlands and Greater Manchester). Rates effective 1 September 2025 under the PRRB chief officer award.
What is the Met Police Commissioner's salary?
£330,465 — the highest police salary in the UK. The Met's senior ladder below that: Deputy Commissioner £273,192, Assistant Commissioner £231,198, Deputy Assistant Commissioner £190,737.
How much does an Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) earn?
£120,489 to £135,756 across a 3-point scale. The equivalent rank in the Met and City of London is Commander, on the same scale. All ACC pay sits in the personal-allowance taper zone, so net pay rises more slowly than gross at this level.
Do chief officers get London weighting or overtime?
No overtime at any chief officer rank. London uplifts are effectively built into the Met/City senior rates rather than paid as separate allowances. Chief officers typically receive benefits-in-kind (car, medical) negotiated locally, which are taxable but outside the calculator's scope.
Why is chief officer take-home proportionally lower?
Three compounding effects: the personal allowance tapers away between £100,000–£125,140 (an effective ~60% marginal band), the 45% additional rate applies above £125,140, and PPS 2015 contributions run at 13.78% throughout. A Group 1 Chief Constable on £231,198 takes home roughly half of gross after pension, tax and NI.

Police pay by rank

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