Average Police Patrol Officer Salary in South Africa for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Police Patrol Officer salary for 2024 in South Africa and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the South African rand. To keep things simple, we are using the ZAR currency code instead of the currency symbol R.

How Much Does a Police Patrol Officer Make in South Africa?

A Police Patrol Officer working in South Africa will typically earn around 201,100 ZAR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 104,620 ZAR to the highest average salary of 308,900 ZAR.

Average Annual Salary
201,100 ZAR
Average Monthly Salary
16,758 ZAR

Lowest Annual Salary
104,620 ZAR
Lowest Monthly Salary
8,718 ZAR

Highest Annual Salary
308,900 ZAR
Highest Monthly Salary
25,741 ZAR

These are average salaries for a Police Patrol Officer in South Africa and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Police Patrol Officer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Police Patrol Officer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Police Patrol Officer Salaries in South Africa

So we've looked at the average salaries a Police Patrol Officer will earn in South Africa. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Police Patrol Officer can earn between 104,620 ZAR and 308,900 ZAR on average in South Africa. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Police Patrol Officer in South Africa is 191,600 ZAR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 191,600 ZAR, and 50% of the population earn more than 191,600 ZAR.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Police Patrol Officer salary in South Africa, 25% of the population are earning less than 136,100 ZAR while 75% of the population earn more than 136,100 ZAR.

75% of the population earn less than 239,000 ZAR, and 25% of the population earn more than 239,000 ZAR.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Police Patrol Officer Salary by Experience Level in South Africa

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average police patrol officer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Police Patrol Officer in South Africa that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 118,200 ZAR.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Police Patrol Officer salary would increase to 159,400 ZAR.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Police Patrol Officer, the average salary would be 207,700 ZAR.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 249,600 ZAR.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Police Patrol Officer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 275,200 ZAR.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Police Patrol Officer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 286,400 ZAR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
118,200 ZAR
2-5 Years +34%
159,400 ZAR
5-10 Years +30%
207,700 ZAR
10-15 Years +21%
249,600 ZAR
15-20 Years +9%
275,200 ZAR
20+ Years +5%
286,400 ZAR

Police Patrol Officer Salary by Education Level in South Africa

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Police Patrol Officer in South Africa based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Police Patrol Officer in South Africa with a high school education can earn an average salary of 142,300 ZAR.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Police Patrol Officer in South Africa with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 201,100 ZAR.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Police Patrol Officer in South Africa with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 279,400 ZAR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
142,300 ZAR
Certificate or Diploma +43%
201,100 ZAR
Bachelor's Degree +38%
279,400 ZAR

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in South Africa is around 156,000 to 467,000 ZAR and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Police Patrol Officer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In South Africa, a male police patrol officer will earn an average of 209,700 ZAR, while a female police patrol officer will earn around 194,600 ZAR.

This means that a male police patrol officer earns approximately 8% more than a female police patrol officer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in South Africa

Male
209,700 ZAR
Female -8%
194,600 ZAR

Police Patrol Officer Average Pay Raise in South Africa

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Police Patrol Officer in South Africa is around 8% every 20 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in South Africa is around 8% every 18 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 8 ÷ 20 ) × 12  = 5%

What this means is that a Police Patrol Officer in South Africa can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 5% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in South Africa for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in South Africa.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
3%
Energy
6%
Information Technology
9%
Healthcare
3%
Travel
6%
Construction
9%
Education
3%

Police Patrol Officer Bonus and Incentive Rates in South Africa

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Police Patrol Officer is a low bonus based job, with 26% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

74% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3%.

Received Bonus
26%
No Bonus
74%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in South Africa earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
386,400 ZAR
Private Sector -7%
361,500 ZAR

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Police Patrol Officer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Police Patrol Officer in South Africa.

Job Title Category Salary
Accreditation Coordinator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 332,100 ZAR
Accreditation Manager Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 472,100 ZAR
Advocate Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 301,600 ZAR
Armed Security Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 294,700 ZAR
Company Guard Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 136,100 ZAR
Control Room Operator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 119,900 ZAR
Correctional Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 221,500 ZAR
Criminal Investigator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 417,100 ZAR
Facility Monitor Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 251,500 ZAR
Fire Chief Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 431,100 ZAR
Fire Dispatcher Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 209,500 ZAR
Fire Education Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 361,500 ZAR
Fire Extinguisher Technician Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 137,400 ZAR
Fire Fighter Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 232,900 ZAR
Fire Inspector Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 419,400 ZAR
Fire Investigator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 417,100 ZAR
Fire Prevention Engineer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 351,200 ZAR
Fire Prevention Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 301,800 ZAR
Fire Protection Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 357,700 ZAR
Forensic Investigator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 389,200 ZAR
Forensic Science Technician Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 406,300 ZAR
Fraud and Forensic Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 431,300 ZAR
Fraud Examiner Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 447,300 ZAR
Grants Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 485,200 ZAR
Intellectual Property Associate Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 371,100 ZAR
Intelligence Research Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 618,800 ZAR
Investigator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 433,400 ZAR
Jail Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 183,700 ZAR
Juvenile Probation Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 299,500 ZAR
Juvenile Supervision Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 297,000 ZAR
Lock-Smith Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 123,400 ZAR
Parole Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 200,000 ZAR
Police Captain Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 472,000 ZAR
Police Communications Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 277,400 ZAR
Police Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 221,500 ZAR
Prison Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 167,100 ZAR
Prisoner Custody Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 152,000 ZAR
Private Detective / Investigator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 397,900 ZAR
Security Adviser Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 390,000 ZAR
Security Guard Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 113,780 ZAR
Security Management Specialist Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 592,200 ZAR
Security Manager Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 559,000 ZAR
Security Officer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 130,400 ZAR
Security Supervisor Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 314,500 ZAR
Security Systems Installer Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 320,500 ZAR
Security Technician Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 138,200 ZAR
Surveillance Operator Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 158,700 ZAR
Traffic Controller Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 225,700 ZAR

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in South Africa, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Bloemfontein 187,300 ZAR
Cape Town 238,900 ZAR
Durban 228,000 ZAR
Johannesburg 218,900 ZAR
Port Elizabeth 192,000 ZAR
Pretoria 216,800 ZAR

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