Pay comparison
Police Pay vs Security Salaries
Reviewed August 2026
Security is the widest exit route out of policing and the widest pay range in this comparison — from licensed guarding that pays below a probationer to head-of-security roles that clear six figures. Which end you land at depends almost entirely on the rung you enter at, and that is a negotiation, not a given.
The comparison below runs both sides through the same tax, National Insurance and pension maths, so you are looking at money that reaches your account rather than headline salaries that are not like-for-like.
Constable (PC / DC)· PP1
Security· mid level
£1,139 more a month in security than on PP1 pay
At the top of the constable scale (PP7, £50,256) you would take home £2,844 a month, so the comparison changes as you move up the scale.
Take-home is not the whole picture: police pension contributions are much higher than civilian auto-enrolment, so some of the difference above is deferred pay rather than money lost. A civilian salary of about £27,908 would match your current take-home — but not your pension.
What the comparison shows
A constable on starting pay (PP1, £31,164) takes home £1,896 a month after tax, National Insurance and pension. A mid-level security role outside London advertises around £48,000, which is £3,034 a month — £1,139 more. A constable at the top of the scale (PP7, £50,256) takes home £2,844 a month instead, which narrows or reverses that gap — move the pay point in the tool above to see your own position.
Take-home is only part of the picture. Police pension contributions run at 12.88% against a civilian auto-enrolment minimum of 5%, so a slice of the difference is deferred pay rather than money lost — and a deferred police pension stops accruing when you leave. A civilian salary of about £27,908 would match this take-home, but not the pension behind it.
What security roles advertise right now
Across 21 live security roles matched to police experience on this site.
Typical
£47,000
Range
£25,760–£201,870
Live advertised salaries always take precedence over the editorial estimates in the tool above.
Live security roles matched to police experience
- Full-time
Duty Security Manager
Birkbeck, University of London · London
Your incident command and team leadership from policing transfer directly into managing campus security operations.
Posted 3 days ago
- Full-time
Duty Security Officer
The Ned & Ned's Club · London
Your threat detection, CCTV monitoring and conflict de-escalation skills from policing are directly applicable to this security role.
Posted 4 days ago
- Full-time
Security Officer
The University of Edinburgh · Edinburgh
Your patrol and incident response experience directly prepares you for this campus security role.
Posted 4 days ago
Security pay by experience level
| Level | Outside London | London |
|---|---|---|
| Entry level | £22,000–£26,000 | £25,000–£28,000 |
| Mid level | £45,000–£52,000 | £51,000–£70,000 |
| Senior / leadership | £85,000–£100,000 | £105,000–£143,000 |
Advertised-salary estimates, reviewed August 2026. The London premium for physical security is modest — around 10%, the smallest of the nine categories. ONS ASHE 2025 gives a median of £31,564 for Security guards and related occupations (SOC 9231).
What moves the number
- Entering at the right rung. Police service usually justifies supervisor or duty-manager entry rather than officer level — the single biggest determinant of where you land in the range.
- Security clearance. SC, CTC, DV or a recent NPPV typically prices 10–20% above an equivalent uncleared post.
- Sector. Corporate, financial-services and data-centre security out-pay retail and events at every grade.
- Chartered status. CSyP and Security Institute membership start to matter at manager level and above.
- London adds roughly 10% — the smallest premium of the nine categories, because physical security pay is set more locally than desk-based roles.
Coming from policing
Response, firearms, custody and supervisory backgrounds all convert directly. Command experience at sergeant and above frequently jumps straight to security manager rather than supervisor, and CTSA experience prices as consultancy rather than management.
The mistake that costs the most money is applying to SIA-licensed officer roles because they are the easiest to get. Those sit at the bottom of the range and are hard to climb out of quickly.
Ex-police typically enter this field at mid level.
Common questions
Will I earn more in security than in the police?
At the start of the constable scale, almost certainly yes. Against a constable at the top of the scale, mid-level security pay is roughly comparable and the answer depends on the sector and whether you hold clearance. Senior security leadership pays well above any rank below superintendent.
Do I need an SIA licence to move into security?
For frontline licensed roles, yes. For the security management and consultancy roles where police experience actually pays, usually not — those are hired on operational judgement and command experience rather than a licence.
Does my police pension keep growing if I leave?
No. A deferred police pension stops accruing, though what you have already built is preserved and revalued. That is why the take-home comparison here is only part of the picture — see the note on pension value below.
See what is actually out there
Go deeper
- Civilian Careers for Ex-Response Officers
- Civilian Careers for Ex-Firearms Officers (AFO/ARV)
- Civilian Careers for Ex-Sergeants & Inspectors
- Civilian Careers for Ex-Neighbourhood Officers
- Civilian Careers After Roads Policing & Collision Investigation
- Civilian Careers for Ex-Custody & Detention Officers
- Civilian Careers for Counter-Terrorism Security Advisors
- Ex-Police Security Salaries in the UK
Methodology
Police figures use the England & Wales scales effective 1 September 2025 (PRRB 2025), Police Scotland scales effective 1 April 2026, and 2026/27 income tax. Some superintendent and chief superintendent pay points are interpolated rather than published, and are flagged in the tool where they are used.
Pension is deducted from pensionable pay (which excludes the London Allowance and NITA), income tax from gross less pension, and National Insurance from full gross. Civilian pension is modelled at the statutory auto-enrolment minimum of 5% of qualifying earnings (£6,240–£50,270); many employers contribute on full salary instead, which would lower the civilian take-home shown here.
Civilian salary bands are editorial estimates from advertised UK salaries and recruiter guides, reviewed August 2026, anchored to ONS ASHE 2025 where an occupation code maps cleanly. They are estimates, not financial advice.