Published 2026-05-30
Police officers are among the winners in the salary development.
Cornelia Thalin, 33, has seen her salary increase when she went from patrolling police to squad leader.
– Starting salaries should be higher considering the crime you face, she says.
The morning starts with updating yourself on what happened during the past 24 hours.
Then Cornelia Thalin, 33, looks over the cases that have come in during the night, follows up contact with preliminary investigation leaders in ongoing investigations and prioritizes what needs to be done for the day.
Then there is a lot of management.
– These are operational and personnel matters. Such as holidays, scheduling and goals for the business. I constantly check if we need to move personnel to the areas where it is extra heavy. It’s an eternal puzzle, and it feels like there’s a shortage of staff everywhere, says Cornelia Thalin.
Do you want to join the salary gallery?
It’s an election year and also pay review times. Salaries in Sweden differ greatly depending on what you do, where you are in the country and how much experience you have in the profession. We at Aftonbladet took a closer look at this in a mapping article.
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Send an email to erik.melin@aftonbladet.se and/or peter.schwartz@aftonbladet.se where you answer the following questions:
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Also attach a picture of yourself.
(Note, compensation is not paid).
“It shouldn’t be the salary that attracts”
According to the Mediation Institute’s salary analysis, police officers are in seventh place among the professional groups with the best salary development in the years 2014-2024. Police officers have seen the average salary grow by almost 38 percent during the period.
– I think it is a great development. Wages have generally been low in the police profession, and we also feel that the development has gone from low to okay wages. Now you can have a decent life with a good standard of living as a police officer.
The average basic salary for police officers is SEK 41,000, according to 2024 figures.
– It sounds loud. I think there may be many high earners who pull the average up. As far as I know, not many people have that basic salary.
Several investments have been made to raise the status of police officers and the attractiveness of the profession since 2019. The latest Riksdag decision meant SEK 1.2 billion in increased police salaries between 2022 and 2024.
As a result, starting salaries have increased by over SEK 10,000, almost 48 percent, over a ten-year period. According to the Police Association, the starting salary for a newly graduated police officer is SEK 31,700 on average today.
Cornelia Thalin herself earned SEK 27,000 in basic salary per month when she started working as a police officer in 2019. She thinks that the starting salaries in the force should be higher.
– Considering the crime you face and the responsibility you have. And that you risk your life every day. Then it shouldn’t be the salary that attracts people to the profession. The police profession demands a lot from you and that you are a person who can handle it.
Eight police salaries
1. Municipal police
Average salary: SEK 49,540 per month.
2. Intelligence police
Average salary: SEK 46,514 a month.
3. Dog handler police
Average salary: SEK 47,009 a month.
4. Emergency police
Average salary: SEK 43,534 a month.
5. Detective police
Average salary: SEK 42,519 a month.
6. Area police
Average salary: SEK 39,739 a month.
7. Border Police
Average salary: SEK 37,400 a month.
8. Local police area police
Average salary: SEK 35,799 a month.
Source: Police newspaper.
“The national police chief earns the best”
The starting salary is the same for all police officers throughout the country. But if you work in Stockholm, you get a special supplement of up to SEK 3,500 after completing education.
– The Stockholm supplement exists because it is an especially difficult area to recruit. All of Sweden’s police officers benefit from the fact that there are more police officers in Stockholm, largely because of the extensive gang crime, says the Police Association’s president Katharina von Sydow.
The problem with police officers’ salaries, she says, is that there are only two employers: The police authority and the Security Police (Säpo).
– It is not possible to change employers to raise your salary. Therefore, we do not have the same wage drift as in other industries. Wages for the collective are falling because you come in with a low salary and end up with a higher one, she says.
In addition to age, it is longer training within the police force and special functions that can push up salaries.
– It is a combination of the complexity of the role, experience and leadership that gives a high salary in the police. The head of the national police, unsurprisingly, earns the best, says Katharina von Sydow.
Investigated criminal networks and sex crimes
Since Cornelia Thalin completed her training in 2019, she has had time to work in several roles at the police. First as a patrolling police officer in external service and then on to a job at a command center as an operator.
Most recently, Cornelia comes from having investigated criminal networks and sexual crimes. Now she works as an acting group leader at the on-call section in the Stockholm south police area.
– My goal has always been to develop towards leadership and become a group manager. Now that I’m there, you can see how you enjoy yourself. I don’t have a crazy dream to work with explosives or become a diver or anything.
– Maybe I would like to fly a police helicopter. But there are hard tests to be able to do it.
As a group manager, the starting salary is around SEK 48,000 a month, she says.
– It is a reasonable starting salary for the role considering the responsibility you have. Then you can get a higher salary based on experience. But otherwise I think it’s a good starting salary.
“Being part of many traumas”
The best thing about the job as a police officer is that you get to make a difference, says Cornelia. Most satisfying is helping victims of crime and succeeding in helping colleagues develop.
The hardest part of the job is that you get to see a lot that ordinary people never come into contact with.
– You get to see and hear a lot of horrible things and be part of many traumas in people’s lives. It affects one. Often you take something with you from each event that you have to process in some way. You can go on ten falls without reacting, but then the eleventh can suddenly become very difficult.
You have worked at different levels and in different roles at the police. What do you think about the difference in pay between the roles?
– There is of course a difference between being an investigator, a patrolling or intervention police officer and a group leader. There should be a difference in salary based on areas of responsibility and what kind of knowledge you have. Managers should have a higher salary because they have more responsibility. But there shouldn’t be too much of a difference.
Do you think any of the roles you held should have a higher salary?
– When you work as a police officer outside, you often get OB because you work shifts. You don’t get that when you work as, for example, an investigator indoors, and then the wages are lower. You should get a supplement for working inside, it would have attracted more police officers who had wanted to work investigative, but feel they can’t afford it.
Ten jobs with the highest salary increase 2014–2024
1. Selling store and department managers in store
Increase: 43.7 percent
Average basic salary in 2024: SEK 37,000
2. Other economists
Increase: 43.2 percent
Average basic salary in 2024: SEK 55,900
3. Supervisors in construction, construction and mining
Increase: 43.0 percent
Average basic salary in 2024: SEK 47,400
4. Special teachers and special educators
Increase: 39.8 percent
Average basic salary in 2024: SEK 45,900
5. Basic nurses
Increase: 39.3 percent
Average basic salary in 2024: SEK 40,900
6. Other business managers within community services
Increase: 39.3 percent
Average basic salary in 2024: SEK 55,900
7. Police officers
Increase: 37.9 percent
Average basic salary in 2024: SEK 41,000
8. Primary school teacher
Increase: 37.9 percent
Average basic salary in 2024: SEK 40,200
9. Engineers and technicians in construction
Increase: 36.4 percent
Average basic salary in 2024: SEK 48,700
10. Department and unit managers within health and medical care
Increase: 36 percent
Average basic salary in 2024: SEK 57,000
Source: Mediation Institute
