The police officer salary in various countries depends on many factors. In the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia the hourly pay is around $25.00 in the respective currency. An annual pay of E31,132 ($33,306) in the United Kingdom and R153,202 ($11,372) in South Africa is expected.
The experience and skills or police officers will impact pay, as well as the average salary and advancement opportunities in different countries. Will a police officer career snapshot look the same in Australia and South Africa? Read this article to gain a global understanding of the police officer salary.
How Much Does a Police Officer Make per Year by Country?
| Police Officer Salary | US | Canada | UK | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa |
| Hourly Pay | $21.00 | C$29.00 ($22.05) | E10 ($10.70) | AU$27.00 ($20.38) | NZ$27.64*($20.08) | Rs 116.66 ($1.71)* | R3.65 ($4.72) |
| Annual Pay | $49,476 | C$71,459 ($54,331) | E31,132 ($33,306) | AU$69,339 ($52,337) | NZ$57,508 ($41,773) | Rs 242,667 (3,563) | R153,202 ($11,372) |
* The hourly rates with an asterisk are estimated from the annual salary and based on a 40 hour work week.
Police Officer Salary Influencing Factors
The below typical pay and salary ranges are provided by Payscale. This is dependent on professionals self-reporting data to Payscale, and thus may not be representative of everyone who works as a police officer in these countries.
1. Location
How Much Does a Police Officer Make in the US?
The hourly rate for police officers in the United States ranges from $13.65 to $34.38 with an overtime rate of $21.53 to $61.21. A bonus of $8,081 can be earned with small profit shares of $400.00 reported. The annual salary is $32,725 to $83,688. A total pay of anywhere from $31,249 to $82,788 is seen.
How Much Does a Police Officer Make in Canada?
The police officer salary in Canada is C$40,892 to C$97,672 dollars with a marginal bonus of C$1,000. The hourly rate is between C$15.09 and C$43.88 with overtime of C$18.50 to C$85.51. The complete salary goes from C$40,249 at the low end to C$97,218 for the 90th percentile of earners.
How Much Does a Police Officer Make in the UK?
Police officers in the United Kingdom will see a base salary of E20,408 to E38,781 with a bonus of E4,894 and profit sharing of E7,172. Those reporting an hourly rate see pay from E6.90 to E16.15 or overtime of E9.88 to E26.20. The base salary in addition to reported incentives fluctuates from E20,131 to E38,844.
How Much Does a Police Officer Make in Australia?
The 10th percentile of earners in Australia see an hourly wage of AU$21.24 while the 90th percentile of earners will make AU$45.62. If they work overtime this rate changes to AU$20.43 to AU$71.48. When looking at a yearly salary, it is AU$49,287 to AU$99,494.
How Much Does a Police Officer make in New Zealand?
Police officers in New Zealand earn from NZ$57,508 to NZ$128,222. There are no reported bonuses or profit shares. However, the reported total pay is lower than the salary. This number goes from NZ$40,412 to NZ$110,000 dollars.
How Much Does a Police Officer Make in India?
In India, the salary is Rs 119,195 to Rs 395,843 annually for police officers. Some of these officers earn a bonus of Rs 9,000. An estimated hourly rate is Rs 57.30 to Rs 190.30. The comprehensive salary is Rs 119,195 to Rs 395,843, exactly the same as the base salary.
How Much Does a Police Officer Make in South Africa?
The annual salary for police officers in South Africa is R99,352 to R265,068. Bonuses and profit shares can contribute to their pay at a rate of R31,441 and R75,030, respectively. The hourly rate is R47.65 to R127.43. In fact, their per annum rate is R98,706 to R271,983.
2. Experience
Naturally, more experience leads to higher pay for most professionals. However, the rate of increase varies by country. In Australia and Canada, police officers see consistent increases in pay for the first 20 years of employment, and then the increases taper off.
While the police officer salary in South Africa has a reverse pattern where the pay increases modestly for 20 years and then increases sharply. In the United States, there are two plateaus of pay increases around 5 and 20 years. Otherwise, their pay increases in a linear fashion.
3. Industry
In New Zealand, there are 371 police stations, and they cover the ground and the sea. They respond to over 600,000 calls a year. There are multiple different areas for police officers to work in. There are communication centers that receive calls, criminal investigators who look into violent and nonviolent crime, and the Royal New Zealand Police College where the police officers can educate future officers.
In the United States, the vast majority of police officers work for the government at different levels. However, there are also some police officers who may work for schools or security companies. Regardless of industry and country, being a police officer is a potentially lethal job.
There are certain cities that see a higher median pay than others. In Australia, police officers in Perth make 25% above the median. In the United States, those in Los Angeles and Chicago make 54% and 39% above the median and those in Atlanta make 15% below the median.
Schedule & Working Hours
Police officers mostly work full-time. Extra hours are a normal occurrence. However, they will receive an overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week. Police officers have to work at all hours of the day and on every holiday. The shifts worked depend on the structure of the station, and the amount of personnel needed at different points. However, it can be expected that an officer has to rotate through different shifts and work on some holidays.
Bonuses & Benefits
Police officers have a very important job to ensure law and order in society. Helping people in difficult situations and disciplining people who commit crimes are very valuable intrinsic benefits.
In the United States, there are pay bonuses associated with the shift worked, the years of service, any overtime or time spent in court, and the ability to reimburse for uniforms. In addition, some police officers may be compensated for the training to become an officer.
Medical benefits vary by country and can be seen in the table below.
| Country | United States | Canada | United Kingdom | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa |
| Medical | 90 | 25 | 25 | 39 | 80 | 67 | 88 |
| Dental | 75 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 40 | 33 | 19 |
| Vision | 64 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 18 |
| None | 8 | 67 | 67 | 59 | 20 | 33 | 12 |
Career Outlook
In the United States, the job growth for police officers is expected to be 4% through the year 2024. The majority of this slow growth can be attributed to the budgets of local, state, and federal government and the inability to pay for more officers than this. Applicants who have a background in security or military will be competitive in the market.
Being a woman police officer is not common. Therefore, women who are interested in this field may have to work harder to find a support system and learn how to be a police officer. In Australia and South Africa 83% of the force is men while in Canada it is 91% and in the United States, the force is 90% men.
Conclusion
A police officer career involves working in potentially dangerous situations every day. Because of this, the police officer salary is high despite the low level of education required to become one. If you have the ability to be versatile, work in a variety of situations, and enforce discipline, then this may be the perfect career for you. However, if you’re looking into a more independent line of work, you can always check out the private investigator salary. The same thrills of police work, but different cases.
