jobfacts

Senior police officers

SOC 2020 1162

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.

Also calledChief constableSuperintendentInspectorPolice inspectorPolice superintendentChief superintendentand 10 more titles
Typical full-time pay£66,7002025 Provisional
People in the job11,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month43↑ 1.7%on last year · 403rd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time senior police officers earn, 2025
£66,700 typical£63,500lowest 20%£64,20025%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£63,500
25%£64,200
Median£66,700
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £66,700
Scotland!£65,500
East of England!£65,300
South West!£65,000
South East!£64,900
North West!£63,600
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £66,700
Scotland£65,500 (small sample)
East of England£65,300 (small sample)
South West£65,000 (small sample)
South East£64,900 (small sample)
North West£63,600 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £59,100
  • 2024 £64,000
  • 2025 Provisional£66,700
↑ 13% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 43 jobs for senior police officers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 202649
Jul 202650
Jun 202636
May 202658
Apr 202628
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 202624
Jan 202653
Dec 202520
Nov 202573
Oct 202548
Sept 202536
Aug 202550
Jul 202541
Jun 202550
May 202552
Apr 202523
Mar 202534
Feb 202534
Jan 202545
Dec 202438
Nov 202451
Oct 202444
Sept 202439
Aug 202436
Jul 202452
Jun 202431
May 202465
Apr 202451
Mar 202440
Feb 202431
Jan 202444
Dec 202345
Nov 202337
Oct 202355
Sept 202333
Aug 202346
Jul 202339
Jun 202364
May 202361
Apr 202347
Mar 202341
Feb 202348
Jan 202366
Dec 202255
Nov 202271
Oct 202272
Sept 202262
Aug 202258
Jul 202262
Jun 202255
May 202266
Apr 202258
Mar 202291
Feb 202278
Jan 202290
Dec 202174
Nov 202177
Oct 202179
Sept 202166
Aug 202183
Jul 202186
Jun 202173
May 202179
Apr 202162
Mar 202183
Feb 202158
Jan 202157
Dec 202051
Nov 202051
Oct 202080
Sept 202053
Aug 202056
Jul 202077
Jun 202071
May 202038
Apr 202082
Mar 202086
Feb 202079
Jan 2020114
Dec 201952
Nov 201970
Oct 201961
Sept 201970
Aug 201966
Jul 201968
Jun 201956
May 201954
Apr 201935
Mar 201938
Feb 201942
Jan 201940
Dec 201832
Nov 201849
Oct 201853
Sept 201853
Aug 201847
Jul 201841
Jun 201849
May 201849
Apr 201841
Mar 201844
Feb 201831
Jan 201847
Dec 201727
Nov 201745
Oct 201732
Sept 201747
Aug 201735
Jul 201738
Jun 201748
May 201751
Apr 201749
Mar 201753
Feb 201737
Jan 201761
Is there a shortage of senior police officers?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
18%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for corporate managers and directors, which includes senior police officers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London20
Leeds5
Manchester4
Birmingham4
Glasgow City3
Middlesbrough3
Bedford3
Derbyshire Dales3
Bristol, City of2
Belfast2
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where senior police officers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of senior police officers
12%!
n/p
53%!
n/p
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
25–3412% (small sample)
35–44Not published
45–5453% (small sample)
55–64Not published
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!74%
Higher education below degree!6.8%
A levels or equivalent!14%
GCSEs or equivalent!17%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent74% (small sample)
Higher education below degree6.8% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent14% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent17% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: public order and safety activities (94%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
74%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • liaises with senior officers to determine staff, financial and other short- and long-term needs
  • plans, directs and co-ordinates general policing for an area or functional unit
  • directs and monitors the work of subordinate officers
  • establishes contacts and sources of information concerning crimes planned or committed
  • directs and co-ordinates the operation of record keeping systems and the preparation of reports

Skills

  • manage staff
  • manage budgets
  • train employees
  • delegate activities
  • write work-related reports
  • lead a team
  • set organisational policies
  • use different communication channels
  • apply grammar and spelling rules
  • build business relationships
  • establish daily priorities
  • implement marketing strategies
  • liaise with colleagues
  • liaise with managers

Knowledge

  • corporate social responsibility
  • project management
  • art history
  • copyright legislation
  • grammar
  • spelling
  • budgetary principles
  • customer relationship management

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Leading and persuading

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for corporate managers and directors, a group of 20 jobs that includes senior police officers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 3%about 78,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.4 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.