Police Now
Salary 2026
Police Now officers are constables of a partner force, paid on the national constable scale from day one. This guide explains Police Now's published ranges, works out starting and take-home pay for all 43 England and Wales forces and follows the pay through the two years, to the top of the scale and on to sergeant. Police Now figures were read on 19 October 2026; everything else is calculated from the official pay rules.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 19 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
Police Now quotes a starting salary of £32,256 to £43,689. The low end is the national pay point 1, paid in 33 of the 43 forces; the high end is the Met with London pay on pay point 2. After tax, NI, pension, a Plan 2 loan and Federation subs, that is roughly £1,904 to £2,470 a month. Specialism does not change pay; the force does.
Police Now's own figures are quoted from its programme page and March 2027 job descriptions, read on 19 October 2026. Every other figure is calculated by PolicePay from the Police Regulations pay scales and allowances, with the 3.5% award from 1 September 2026 applied to the official 2025/26 rates and rounded to the nearest pound and 2026/27 tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan rules. The calculations run through the same engine as our Police Now salary calculator, so the two always agree. They are estimates: your payslip depends on your tax code, start date and anything your force adds.
The headline figures
Police Now publishes three ranges on its National Graduate Programme page and a force figure in each job description. Here they are, next to what we calculate on the pay rates in force from 1 September 2026:
| What | Police Now says | Our 2026/27 figure | Take-home a month (Plan 2 loan, Fed member) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting salary, lowest | £32,256 | £32,255 | £1,904 |
| Starting salary, highest | £43,689 | £43,688 (Met, point 2) | £2,470 |
| Within seven years | £50,256 to £59,964 | £52,015 to £62,094 | £2,746 to £3,237 |
| Sergeant, on promotion | £53,568 to £63,276 | £55,443 to £65,522 | £2,911 to £3,352 |
Three things explain every difference in that table. The starting figures are this year's rates; the seven-year and sergeant figures on Police Now's page match last year's (from 1 September 2025), so ours are higher. Our point 1 figure is £1 below the announced one because of rounding. And the bottom of each range is a force with no location pay, while the top is London.
Police Now's job descriptions for the March 2027 entry (now closed) gave these force figures:
| Force and specialism | Police Now figure | Pay year | What it is made of | On 2026/27 rates (PolicePay) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Wales Police (Neighbourhood) | £32,256 | 2026/27 | Pay point 1 from 1 September 2026, no location pay | £32,255 |
| Northamptonshire Police (Neighbourhood) | £32,256 | 2026/27 | Pay point 1 from 1 September 2026, no location pay | £32,255 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary (Neighbourhood) | £34,326 | 2026/27 | Pay point 1 from 1 September 2026 (£32,256) + South East Allowance £2,070 | £34,325 |
| Metropolitan Police (Counter Terrorism) | £42,210 | 2025/26 | Pay point 2 on the 2025/26 rates (£32,472) + London Weighting £3,150 + London Allowance £6,588 | £43,688 |
| North Wales Police (Detective) | £31,164 | 2025/26 | Pay point 1 on the 2025/26 rates (£31,164), written before the September 2026 award | £32,255 |
| Dorset Police (Economic Crime) | £31,164 | 2025/26 | Pay point 1 on the 2025/26 rates (£31,164), written before the September 2026 award | £32,255 |
So detectives do not start below neighbourhood officers: the two £31,164 figures are last year's pay point 1.
Why the range is so wide
A £11,433 spread in starting pay sounds as if Police Now negotiates different salaries with different forces. It does not. Every Police Now officer is appointed as a constable by a partner force and paid on the national England and Wales constable scale. Two things move the figure:
- Location pay. Officers in the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police get London Weighting (£3,260) and the London Allowance (£6,819 at the maximum rate the Met pays), £10,079 in all. A South East Allowance is paid in 8 forces: £3,105 in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Thames Valley and £2,070 in Bedfordshire, Hampshire and Sussex. The other 33 forces pay no location pay at all.
- Starting pay point. New constables start on pay point 1 (£32,255), but since 1 April 2025 a chief officer may, after consulting the local policing body, put all new constables on pay point 2 (£33,609) to help local recruitment. That is worth £1,354 a year in year 1.
Put together: point 1 with no location pay is the bottom of the range (£32,255 on our rounding) and point 2 at the Met with both London payments is the top (£43,688). Specialism plays no part. Neither does your degree, its class, or previous experience: there is no higher starting point for graduates or career changers on this route.
London Weighting is pensionable, so pension contributions are taken on it and it counts towards your pension. The London Allowance and the South East Allowance are not pensionable, so no pension is taken on them and they do not build pension. That is why take-home pay rises a little more than you might expect from the gross figure in South East forces.
Police Now starting pay in every England and Wales force
Police Now only recruits for a few forces in each window, but it has partnered with many more over the years and the next window's forces are not yet known. So here is year 1 pay on pay point 1 in all 43 territorial forces, highest first. Forces Police Now listed roles for in the March 2027 entry or the July 2026 cohort are marked.
| Force | Region | Gross a year | Location pay | Take-home a month (no loan, no Fed) | With Plan 2 loan and Fed subs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of London Police | London | £42,334 | London Weighting £3,260 + London Allowance £6,819 | £2,528 | £2,405 |
| Metropolitan Police (recent Police Now: Neighbourhood, Counter Terrorism) | London | £42,334 | London Weighting £3,260 + London Allowance £6,819 | £2,528 | £2,410 |
| Essex Police | East of England | £35,360 | South East Allowance £3,105 | £2,138 | £2,068 |
| Hertfordshire Constabulary | East of England | £35,360 | South East Allowance £3,105 | £2,138 | £2,068 |
| Kent Police | South East | £35,360 | South East Allowance £3,105 | £2,138 | £2,068 |
| Surrey Police | South East | £35,360 | South East Allowance £3,105 | £2,138 | £2,068 |
| Thames Valley Police | South East | £35,360 | South East Allowance £3,105 | £2,138 | £2,068 |
| Bedfordshire Police | East of England | £34,325 | South East Allowance £2,070 | £2,076 | £2,013 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary (recent Police Now: Neighbourhood) | South East | £34,325 | South East Allowance £2,070 | £2,076 | £2,013 |
| Sussex Police | South East | £34,325 | South East Allowance £2,070 | £2,076 | £2,013 |
| Avon and Somerset Police | South West | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Cambridgeshire Constabulary | East of England | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Cheshire Constabulary | North West | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Cleveland Police | North East | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Cumbria Constabulary | North West | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Derbyshire Constabulary | East Midlands | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Devon and Cornwall Police | South West | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Dorset Police (recent Police Now: Economic Crime) | South West | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Durham Constabulary | North East | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Dyfed-Powys Police | Wales | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Gloucestershire Constabulary | South West | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Greater Manchester Police | North West | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Gwent Police | Wales | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Humberside Police | Yorkshire and the Humber | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Lancashire Constabulary | North West | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Leicestershire Police | East Midlands | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Lincolnshire Police | East Midlands | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Merseyside Police | North West | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Norfolk Constabulary | East of England | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| North Wales Police (recent Police Now: Neighbourhood, Detective) | Wales | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| North Yorkshire Police | Yorkshire and the Humber | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Northamptonshire Police (recent Police Now: Neighbourhood) | East Midlands | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Northumbria Police | North East | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Nottinghamshire Police | East Midlands | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| South Wales Police | Wales | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| South Yorkshire Police | Yorkshire and the Humber | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Staffordshire Police | West Midlands | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Suffolk Constabulary | East of England | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| Warwickshire Police | West Midlands | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| West Mercia Police | West Midlands | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| West Midlands Police (recent Police Now: Neighbourhood, Counter Terrorism) | West Midlands | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
| West Yorkshire Police | Yorkshire and the Humber | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,910 |
| Wiltshire Police | South West | £32,255 | None | £1,952 | £1,904 |
There are only 4 different starting figures across the 43 forces: £42,334 (2 forces), £35,360 (5 forces), £34,325 (3 forces), £32,255 (33 forces). If your force starts new constables on pay point 2, add £1,354 to the gross figure. For a different loan plan, a Postgraduate Loan or point 2, use the salary calculator.
Take-home figures assume a full year at that pay, the standard tax code and the 2015 scheme pension at the full rate. Every figure is £1 a year below what the announced point 1 (£32,256) would give, because of rounding in our pay data.
Pay point 1 or pay point 2?
The rule is in Annex F of the Police Regulations: from 1 April 2025, the chief officer may assign all constables appointed on or after that date to pay point 2, after consulting the local policing body, where that is needed for local recruitment. If a force does this, constables already on point 1 move to point 2 and that date becomes their new increment date.
Police Now does not say which of its partner forces use point 2. Its own figures give clues. North Wales, Northamptonshire and Hampshire and Isle of Wight figures all match point 1. Both of its Met figures (the £43,689 top of the start range and the £42,210 counter terrorism figure) match point 2 with London pay, one on this year's rates and one on last year's. The Met itself said on 12 October 2026 that new recruits start on a salary of more than £43,000, which only point 2 with London Weighting and the London Allowance reaches (£43,688; point 1 gives £42,334). So the Met starts new constables on point 2 and we show it that way across this section.
| Point 1 start | Point 2 start | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 gross, no location pay | £32,255 | £33,609 |
| Year 1 take-home a month, no location pay | £1,904 | £1,964 |
| Year 1 gross, Met | £42,334 | £43,688 |
| Year 1 take-home a month, Met | £2,410 | £2,470 |
| Year the top of the scale is reached | Year 7 | Year 6 |
| Pay over the first seven years, no location pay | £272,788 | £292,548 |
A point 2 start is worth more than the first year's difference, because you reach every later point a year sooner. Ask your force which point it uses before you accept.
Pay during the Police Now academy
You are sworn in as a constable before or at the start of the academy, so you are paid from day one, by your force, at your full constable rate. There is no lower trainee rate. Police Now's job descriptions say the starting salary is paid from day one at the residential training academy and its training FAQ says accommodation and meals at the academy are covered. You can usually go home at weekends.
- Academy length: eight weeks for Neighbourhood and thirteen for Detective, Economic Crime and Counter Terrorism on the specialism pages. The National Graduate Programme page says both seven and twelve weeks and eight to thirteen weeks.
- Pay in the academy weeks: about £2,688 a month gross at point 1 with no location pay, £1,904 after deductions, from your first payday.
- Your first payslip: it may be for part of a month and if your employer has no P45 from you it may use an emergency tax code at first. Both even out later in the tax year.
- Costs: Police Now's programme page mentions accommodation and travel support. What is covered beyond academy accommodation and meals depends on the force; ask about travel to and from the academy.
Pay over the two-year programme
Constables move up one pay point on each anniversary of their appointment. While on probation you do not need to meet the pay progression standard to move up (Annex F, Part 1BA paragraph 13) and the two-year programme ends when you complete probation. So on a point 1 start you are on point 2 for the second year:
| Force | Year 1 gross | Year 2 gross | Two-year gross | Two-year take-home | Year 2 take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Wales (no location pay) | £32,255 | £33,609 | £65,864 | £46,419 | £1,964 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | £34,325 | £35,679 | £70,004 | £49,016 | £2,072 |
| Essex (higher South East rate) | £35,360 | £36,714 | £72,074 | £50,338 | £2,127 |
| Metropolitan Police, point 1 | £42,334 | £43,688 | £86,022 | £58,563 | £2,470 |
| Metropolitan Police, point 2 | £43,688 | £45,051 | £88,739 | £59,694 | £2,505 |
These use the September 2026 rates for both years. Police pay has been raised every September in recent years (4.2% in 2025 and 3.5% in 2026), but future awards are not known, so we have not guessed one. If there is an award in September 2027, both years' figures move up with it.
Pay over seven years
After the programme you stay with your force as a constable or detective constable and keep moving up a point a year, now subject to the pay progression standard: an annual performance review, no live formal action at stage 1 or 2 of the performance or attendance procedures and any required training. The scale ends at point 7.
| Year | Point | No location pay: gross | No location pay: take-home a month | Hampshire: gross | Met (point 2 start): gross | Met: take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (programme) | 1 | £32,255 | £1,904 | £34,325 | £43,688 | £2,470 |
| Year 2 (programme) | 2 | £33,609 | £1,964 | £35,679 | £45,051 | £2,505 |
| Year 3 | 3 | £34,972 | £2,024 | £37,042 | £46,414 | £2,564 |
| Year 4 | 4 | £36,335 | £2,083 | £38,405 | £49,137 | £2,681 |
| Year 5 | 5 | £39,058 | £2,177 | £41,128 | £54,623 | £2,940 |
| Year 6 | 6 | £44,544 | £2,414 | £46,614 | £62,094 | £3,237 |
| Year 7 | 7 | £52,015 | £2,746 | £54,085 | £62,094 | £3,237 |
The scale is not even. Points 1 to 5 rise by £1,354 to £2,723 a year, then point 6 adds £5,486 and point 7 adds £7,471. So most of the growth Police Now describes comes in years 6 and 7.
Police Now's "within seven years" range of £50,256 to £59,964 is point 7 on the 2025/26 rates at the bottom (£50,256), so it is the same idea as our table, one pay award older. Note that a point 1 starter reaches point 7 at the start of year 7, that is after six years' service.
Your pension contribution band changes along the way. Pensionable pay above £37,035 moves you from 12.88% to 13.88%: with no location pay that happens at point 5 (year 5); at the Met, where London Weighting is pensionable, at point 3 (year 3).
Detective pay on Police Now
Detective, Economic Crime and Counter Terrorism participants are trainee detective constables, paid on exactly the same constable scale as Neighbourhood participants. There is no national detective allowance: Annex U of the Police Regulations, which lists every national allowance, has none. Becoming a detective changes your role and your accreditation (PIP2), not your pay point.
- Same scale, same increments: a trainee detective in North Wales starts on £32,255, like a neighbourhood officer there.
- Local payments: some forces pay their own detective or hard-to-fill role payments. They are local, can change and are not in Police Now's figures. Ask your force whether it pays one to detective constables and whether it applies to trainees.
- The National Investigators' Exam: Police Now's detective trainees sit it at the end of the academy. Passing it is a step to PIP2 accreditation, not a pay rise. See the NIE on direct entry detective routes.
- Overtime: investigative work can bring overtime, but it is not guaranteed and varies by team and force.
For pay further up the detective ranks, see detective ranks and salaries; for the investigator levels, PIP1 vs PIP2.
The £42,210 Met counter terrorism figure
Police Now's Counter Terrorism job description for the Met gives a salary of £42,210. That is lower than both of our Met figures for 2026/27 (£42,334 on point 1, £43,688 on point 2), which looks odd for a role starting in March 2027.
The figure adds up exactly on the previous year's rates, in force from 1 September 2025:
| Part | 2025/26 | 2026/27 (our figures) |
|---|---|---|
| Constable pay point 2 | £32,472 | £33,609 |
| London Weighting (pensionable) | £3,150 | £3,260 |
| London Allowance (maximum, not pensionable) | £6,588 | £6,819 |
| Total | £42,210 | £43,688 |
So the job description appears to use 2025/26 pay, probably written before the September 2026 award, while the programme page's £43,689 is the same package on 2026/27 pay. We could not confirm this with Police Now. If you are offered a Met counter terrorism role, expect to be paid the Met's current rate for your pay point, which on our figures is £43,688 at point 2 (about £2,470 a month after a Plan 2 loan and Federation subs, £2,598 without them).
Counter terrorism work begins in year two. Like detective work, it carries no national allowance and the stricter nationality, residency and vetting rules for this specialism do not change pay.
Sergeant pay after Police Now
Police Now quotes a sergeant starting salary of £53,568 to £63,276. Sergeants appointed on or after 1 September 2020 join at sergeant pay point 2 (Annex F, Part 3) and £53,568 is exactly sergeant point 2 on the 2025/26 rates. On the rates from 1 September 2026:
| Sergeant pay point | Basic | No location pay: take-home a month | Met: gross | Met: take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point 2 (on promotion) | £55,443 | £2,911 | £65,522 | £3,352 |
| Point 3 | £56,573 | £2,966 | £66,652 | £3,391 |
| Point 4 | £58,175 | £3,044 | £68,254 | £3,446 |
Promotion to sergeant is through your force's process and the national promotion exam, not through Police Now and you usually need to have finished probation first. Police Now says its alumni network offers promotion coaching. The sergeant figure is a step up of £3,428 on a top-of-scale constable, smaller than the £23,188 gap from a new constable might suggest, because by the time most officers are promoted they are well up the constable scale. See the promotion hub for how it works.
Take-home pay: where the money goes
Year 1, pay point 1, in North Wales (no location pay) and Hampshire (South East Allowance), with a Plan 2 student loan and Federation membership:
| North Wales | Hampshire and Isle of Wight | Met, point 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £2,688 | £2,860 | £3,528 |
| Pension (2015 scheme) | £346 (12.88% of £32,255) | £346 (12.88% of £32,255) | £381 (12.88% of £35,515) |
| Income tax | £259 | £293 | £415 |
| National Insurance | £131 | £145 | £198 |
| Student loan (Plan 2) | £21 | £37 | £97 |
| Police Federation subscription | £26 | £26 | £26 |
| Take-home | £1,904 | £2,013 | £2,410 |
- Pension comes off before tax. Police pension contributions are taken from pay before income tax is worked out, so they cost you less than their face value. National Insurance is still charged on the full pay.
- Hampshire's pension is charged on basic pay only (£32,255), because the South East Allowance is not pensionable. At the Met, London Weighting is pensionable and the London Allowance is not.
- Federation subscription: membership is optional and costs £26.31 a month from January 2026. It qualifies for tax relief: HMRC gives it through payroll at the Met and West Yorkshire; elsewhere you claim it from HMRC (worth about £63 a year at basic rate).
Student loans on a Police Now salary
Police Now recruits graduates, so most participants have a student loan. Repayments come out through payroll at 9% of pay above your plan's threshold (6% for a Postgraduate Loan), worked out each month. Which plan you are on depends on where you lived and when your course started:
| Plan | Who is on it | Threshold | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan 2 | England courses started 1 September 2012 to 31 July 2023; Wales undergraduate courses from 1 September 2012 | £29,385 at 9% | £21 | £31 | £169 |
| Plan 5 | England courses started on or after 1 August 2023 | £25,000 at 9% | £54 | £64 | £202 |
| Plan 1 | England or Wales courses started before 1 September 2012; everyone from Northern Ireland | £26,900 at 9% | £40 | £50 | £188 |
| Plan 4 | Scotland | £33,795 at 9% | £0 | £0 | £136 |
- Plan 5 bites hardest at the start. English graduates whose course started on or after 1 August 2023 are on Plan 5, with a £25,000 threshold, against £29,385 for Plan 2. On a starting police salary that is the difference between a small deduction and a noticeable one.
- Postgraduate Loan: 6% of pay over £21,000, on top of any undergraduate plan: about £56 a month in year 1 with no location pay.
- Location pay counts. London and South East allowances are part of pay for student loans, so repayments are higher in those forces.
- Check your plan on your Student Loans Company account; you cannot choose it. If you have loans on more than one plan, payroll collects at the lowest threshold.
Pension
Police Now's job descriptions say you are automatically enrolled in the Police Pension Scheme. For anyone joining now that is the Police Pension Scheme 2015, the only scheme open to new officers in England and Wales.
- Career average: each scheme year you build up 1/55.3 of that year's pensionable pay as pension, revalued each year by the change in prices plus 1.25% while you are serving.
- What year 1 builds: about £583 a year of pension payable from 60 in a force with no location pay and £642 at the Met (where London Weighting counts), in today's money.
- Normal pension age: 60. Earlier payment is possible with a reduction.
- Contributions from 1 April 2026: 12.88% (up to £37,035); 13.88% (over £37,035 to under £79,588); 14.22% (£79,588 or more), of pensionable pay. New Police Now officers start in the lowest band.
- Pensionable pay: basic pay plus London Weighting. Not the London Allowance, the South East Allowance or overtime.
For what a full career builds, see how much will my police pension be.
Annual leave
Police Now's job descriptions say you start with 22 days a year plus public holidays, rising to 30 with service and the programme page says at least 22 days. The Police Regulations say something different for officers appointed now. Annex O, as amended from 1 April 2025, gives officers below superintendent appointed on or after that date:
| Relevant service | Days a year |
|---|---|
| Less than 6 years | 25 |
| 6 years or more | 26 |
| 7 years or more | 27 |
| 8 years or more | 28 |
| 9 years or more | 29 |
| 10 years or more | 30 |
So on the regulations a new Police Now officer should start on 25 days, not 22. Police Now's figure may be older text. Police Now says public holidays are on top. Ask your force to confirm your entitlement; see our annual leave guides for how leave works on shifts.
Police Now pay compared with DHEP and PCDA
Police Now, a force's own Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) and the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) all make you a constable from day one, paid on the same national scale with the same location pay in the same force. The differences between the routes are selection, training and timing, not pay.
| Police Now | Force DHEP | PCDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay scale | National constable scale | National constable scale | National constable scale |
| Year 1, no location pay, point 1 | £32,255 | £32,255 | £32,255 |
| Year 1 at the Met, point 1 | £42,334 | £42,334 | £42,334 |
| Point 2 start | If the force uses it | If the force uses it | If the force uses it |
| Paid during initial training | Yes, at the academy | Yes | Yes |
If pay is your deciding factor, the force matters far more than the route. Compare the routes on what does differ in our Police Now vs DHEP vs PCDA guide, DHEP explained and PCDA explained.
Overtime, allowances and other pay
Police Now's figures and ours, are contractual pay only. On top, depending on your shifts and role:
- Overtime: paid under the Police Regulations at enhanced rates. It varies hugely between officers and is never guaranteed.
- Unsocial hours allowance: 10% of your hourly rate for each full hour worked between 8pm and 6am (Annex U).
- On-call allowance: £35 for each day with any time on call (Annex U).
- Local payments: some forces pay their own recruitment or retention payments for particular roles or places.
See police allowances explained and use the police salary calculator to add overtime and allowances to your figure.
The Police Now salary calculator takes your force, start point, student loan, Postgraduate Loan and Federation membership and shows gross and take-home pay for each programme year, to year 7 and on promotion to sergeant. Free, no sign-up, nothing stored.
Common misconceptions about Police Now pay
- "Police Now pays graduates more than other routes." It does not. Pay is the national constable scale whatever the route.
- "Everyone starts on £43,689." That is the top of the range: London pay on pay point 2. Most forces start on point 1 with no location pay.
- "Detectives get a detective allowance." There is no national one. Any detective payment is a local force decision.
- "Police Now pays my salary." Your force appoints and pays you. Police Now runs selection, the academy and support.
- "Pay is lower during training." There is no trainee rate. You are a constable on full pay from day one.
- "The seven-year figure is guaranteed." After probation, each increment depends on meeting the pay progression standard and the figures depend on future pay awards.
- "Location pay is all pensionable." Only London Weighting is. The London Allowance and South East Allowance are not.
Pay questions to ask before you accept
- Does the force start new constables on pay point 1 or pay point 2?
- What location pay does the force pay, at what rate and is any of it pensionable?
- Does the force pay any local payment for detectives or for my specialism and does it apply to trainees?
- What is my increment date: the date I am sworn in, or another date?
- When is the first payday and will the first month be a part month?
- What does Police Now or the force cover for travel to and from the academy?
- How many days' annual leave will I get in year 1?
Recruitment window alerts
Get told when Police Now opens the March 2028 window
The March 2027 entry has closed. Police Now says applications for the March 2028 start open early next year and has not given a date. Leave your email and we will tell you when the window opens, with the forces and the closing date we can find. You can add up to two forces too. Occasional emails, written by hand. Unsubscribe any time.
What we could not verify
- Which partner forces other than the Met use pay point 2. The Met's own 12 October 2026 figure confirms it does; no other partner force has published its start point.
- Police Now's £1 at the top of its range. Point 2 plus the announced London Weighting and London Allowance is £43,688; Police Now says £43,689. The likely reason is rounding: the Home Office rounds pay figures to £3 steps, which gives London Weighting £3,261 (the figure the Defence Police Federation publishes) and a total of exactly £43,689.
- The upper ends of Police Now's seven-year and sergeant ranges. Both are £9,708 above the bottom of the range, while London Weighting plus the maximum London Allowance on the 2025/26 rates is £9,738. We could not explain the £30 difference.
- The official 2026/27 pay table. The Home Office circular published on 31 July 2026 covers the 2025/26 award. Our 2026/27 figures are the 2025/26 rates plus 3.5%, rounded; the announced point 1 is £1 higher.
- South East Allowance rates in each force. The regulations let chief officers set it up to the maximum; we use the published rates.
- Local detective or retention payments in the forces Police Now recruits for.
- Annual leave. Police Now says 22 days; the regulations say 25 for officers appointed from 1 April 2025.
- Travel and relocation support beyond academy accommodation and meals, which depends on force.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Police Now starting salary in 2026?
Police Now's programme page gives a starting salary of £32,256 to £43,689, depending on location. The bottom is the national constable pay point 1 from 1 September 2026, paid in the 33 forces with no location pay. The top matches the Metropolitan Police at pay point 2 with London Weighting and London Allowance. Police Now does not pay you; your force does, on its scale.
How much does a Police Now officer take home a month?
On our estimate for 2026/27, about £1,904 a month in year 1 in a force with no location pay, after tax, National Insurance, the 2015 scheme pension, a Plan 2 student loan and the Federation subscription (£1,952 without the loan and subscription). At the Met, which starts new recruits on pay point 2, it is about £2,470 a month on £43,688 gross. Use the Police Now salary calculator for your own force and loan plan.
Do Police Now detectives earn more than neighbourhood officers?
No. Every specialism is paid on the same national constable scale, so a trainee detective and a neighbourhood officer in the same force at the same pay point earn the same. There is no national detective allowance in the Police Regulations. Some forces pay local payments, which you should ask your force about.
Am I paid while at the Police Now academy?
Yes. Police Now says you are paid a salary from day one, including at the residential academy, by the force that appoints you. Police Now's training FAQ says academy accommodation and meals are covered.
How much will I earn after the two-year Police Now programme?
On a point 1 start you are on point 3 when year 3 begins: £34,972 basic on the rates from 1 September 2026, plus any location pay. Pay keeps rising one point a year to £52,015 at point 7, reached in year 7 (year 6 if you started on point 2). These are today's rates; annual pay awards come on top.
Why does Police Now say £50,256 to £59,964 within seven years?
£50,256 is the top of the constable scale (point 7) on the rates from 1 September 2025. From 1 September 2026 point 7 is £52,015 on our figures, so Police Now's seven-year range looks one pay award behind its starting range. The upper end adds London pay; we could not reconcile it exactly (see What we could not verify).
What does a sergeant earn after Police Now?
A sergeant appointed now joins sergeant pay point 2: £55,443 from 1 September 2026 on our figures, rising to £58,175 at point 4, plus any location pay (£65,522 at the Met). Police Now quotes £53,568 to £63,276, which is the 2025/26 rate. Promotion follows the national process, not Police Now's.
Is Police Now pay the same as DHEP or PCDA pay?
Yes. Police Now officers, DHEP student officers and PCDA apprentices are all constables paid on the same national scale, with the same location pay in the same force. The routes differ in selection and training, not pay. A force that starts all new constables on pay point 2 does so whatever the route.
Which pension scheme do Police Now officers join?
The Police Pension Scheme 2015, the only scheme open to new officers in England and Wales. It is a career average scheme: each year you build up 1.81% (1/55.3) of that year's pensionable pay, payable in full from 60. Contributions are 12.88% of pensionable pay up to £37,035 and 13.88% above that (to under £79,588), from 1 April 2026.
How much annual leave do Police Now officers get?
Police Now's job descriptions say 22 days rising to 30, plus public holidays. The Police Regulations, as amended from 1 April 2025, give officers appointed on or after that date 25 days a year until six years' service, rising a day a year to 30 at ten years. We think the regulations are the better guide; ask your force.
Does my student loan come out of Police Now pay?
Yes, through payroll, once your pay is over your plan's threshold. In a force with no location pay, Plan 2 takes about £21 a month in year 1 and Plan 5, which starts at £25,000, about £54. A Postgraduate Loan adds 6% of pay over £21,000, about £56 a month in year 1.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 19 October 2026. Rules and figures change, so check the source for the date you are reading this. Where we could not confirm something from an official or independent source, the page says so rather than guessing. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.
- Police Now: National Graduate Programme : starting salary £32,256 to £43,689 depending on location; £50,256 to £59,964 within seven years; sergeant £53,568 to £63,276; salary from day one; at least 22 days' leave plus bank holidays (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Now: Neighbourhood job description (March 2027 roles) : North Wales £32,256; Northamptonshire £32,256; Hampshire and Isle of Wight £34,326; paid from day one at the academy; 22 days rising to 30; Police Pension Scheme (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Now: Detective job description (March 2027 roles) : detective roles listed for March 2027 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Now: Counter Terrorism job description (March 2027 roles) : Metropolitan Police £42,210; 22 days rising to 30 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Now FAQ: What will the training involve? : residential academy; accommodation and meals covered (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Home Office Circular 011/2026: Annex F (pay), Police Regulations 2003 : 2025/26 constable scales (point 1 £31,164, point 2 £32,472, point 7 £50,256); sergeant point 2 £53,568; point 2 start option from 1 April 2025; increments on the appointment anniversary; probationers need not meet the pay progression standard; sergeants join at point 2; London Weighting £3,150 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Home Office Circular 011/2026: Annex U (allowances) : London Allowance maximum £6,588; South East Allowance £3,000 (Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey, Thames Valley) or £2,000 (Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Sussex), set by the chief officer; no detective allowance; on-call and unsocial hours allowances (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Written ministerial statement HCWS264: police pay award 2026/27 (15 July 2026) : the 3.5% award from 1 September 2026 accepted in full (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Metropolitan Police: We've accepted the challenge. Will you? (12 October 2026) : new recruits start on a salary of more than £43,000, which only pay point 2 with London pay reaches (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Home Office Circular 003/2025: Annex O (annual leave) : officers below superintendent appointed on or after 1 April 2025: 25 days under six years' service, rising to 30 at ten years (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/267) : 2015 scheme contribution bands from 1 April 2026 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/445) : career average scheme; accrual 1/55.3; normal pension age 60; revaluation (accessed 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: which student loan repayment plan you are on : who is on Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5 and the Postgraduate Loan (accessed 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: collection of student loans from 6 April 2026 : 2026/27 thresholds; payroll deductions worked per pay period (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Police Federation of England and Wales: Join the Fed : £26.31 a month from 1 January 2026; claimable against income tax (accessed 19 October 2026)
- HMRC List 3: approved professional organisations : Federation subscription relief through payroll at the Met and West Yorkshire (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Defence Police Federation (DPF): MDP annual pay award 2026/27 update (6 August 2026) : MOD Police London Weighting £3,261 from 1 September 2026 (a possible source of Police Now's £1 difference; not a Home Office figure) (accessed 19 October 2026)
On this topic elsewhere
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Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with Police Now, the College of Policing or any police force. It does not recruit or assess applicants. Police Now sets its own eligibility, selection and programme content and changes them between cohorts: check Police Now's own pages and your invitation before relying on anything here. Practice material on this page is original PolicePay material, not Police Now's. Details are as checked on 19 October 2026.