Detective Inspector Salary
The short answer
A detective inspector outside London takes home £43,381 to £46,065 a year — £3,615.09 to £3,838.72 a month — after income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions.
Detective Inspector Pay Scale (basic, outside London)
| Pay Point | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Pay Point 0 (on appointment) | £66,000 | £5,500.00 |
| Pay Point 1 | £67,798 | £5,649.83 |
| Pay Point 2 | £69,589 | £5,799.08 |
| Pay Point 3 (top) | £71,396 | £5,949.67 |
Take-Home Pay After Tax, NI and Pension
| Pay Point | Gross | Pension | Tax | NI | Net | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay Point 0 (on appointment) | £66,000 | £9,095 | £10,194 | £3,330 | £43,381 | £3,615.09 |
| Pay Point 1 | £67,798 | £9,343 | £10,814 | £3,366 | £44,275 | £3,689.61 |
| Pay Point 2 | £69,589 | £9,589 | £11,432 | £3,402 | £45,166 | £3,763.84 |
| Pay Point 3 (top) | £71,396 | £9,838 | £12,055 | £3,438 | £46,065 | £3,838.72 |
Detective Inspector pay is the ordinary inspector scale — the role does not attract a separate rate. Figures are outside London on the standard tax code, with no overtime and no student loan.
Check your own figure
A detective inspector is paid on the ordinary inspector scale. Police Regulations set pay by rank, not by role, so there is no detective premium and no separate DI scale — a DI and a uniformed inspector on the same pay point receive the same basic pay.
What changes at inspector level is the shape of total pay rather than its size. Inspecting ranks work officer hours and are not normally eligible for overtime, so unlike a DS or DC the scale figure is close to the whole picture. For officers promoted from detective sergeant, losing regular overtime can offset a good part of the £7,825 jump in basic pay, at least in the first year.
The DI scale has four points and officers normally move up one each year, reaching the top in about three years. Progression beyond that is by promotion to detective chief inspector, which adds only around £1,410 at the bottom of the next scale — the narrowest rank step in the federated structure.