Cheswold Police Department entry pay

What Cheswold says about itself

The Cheswold Police Department will deliver quality police service in an effective and efficient manner: delivery of effective and efficient service is doing what is right and doing it the right way. All members of the Police Department will contribute to the development and maintenance of an organisation that will cultivate the total confidence, unwavering trust and absolute respect of the citizens of Cheswold and its governing body, as well as the entire Delaware Criminal Justice Community. The department's motto is fidelity, sacrifice, integrity.

What Cheswold does

Cheswold Police Department serves a small, fast-growing town in Kent County, Delaware, from Main Street, with around four full-time and three part-time officers. Officers patrol the town alongside the Delaware State Police and other agencies, with special duty patrols at various times of day, and the town has worked over more than a decade to build the department towards being self-sustaining. In January 2025 it became the thirteenth police agency in Delaware to earn state accreditation through the Delaware Police Accreditation Commission, meeting more than 105 professional standards after an on-site assessment. The department also takes part in a police accountability committee shared with Smyrna and Clayton.

Where the figure comes from

Checked 16 August 2026. Town of Cheswold — Police Employment, the town's own site — open the source document
The Town of Cheswold pays $54,000 or more during academy training, rising to $57,500 a year after academy graduation, with promotion to Patrolman First Class at $60,500 after the first full year of service. Academy training is paid at $26.00 an hour. Officers work a five-day week with no weekends and no overnight shifts, and join the take-home vehicle programme after field training. A lateral with four or more years starts at $69,500. Class: Patrolman — the rate on academy graduation | Post-academy: yes. Academy training is paid at $26.00 an hour, $54,000 or more a year; the next move above the published figure is $60,500 after the first full year of service, and a lateral with four or more years starts at $69,500.
Entry-level base salary only. Overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift differentials, locality pay and lateral rates are excluded, so most officers earn more than this.

How this level compares

Where Cheswold sits is partly about the agency and partly about which level of policing it belongs to. The three levels do not pay the same.

How it ranks

Common questions

How much does a Cheswold Police Department officer make?

Cheswold Police Department starts a new officer on $57,500 a year, about $27.64 an hour on a 2,080-hour year. That is base salary before overtime, bonuses, education incentives, shift differentials and locality pay, so most serving officers earn more. The figure comes from Town of Cheswold — Police Employment, the town's own site.

Is that good pay for a police officer in Delaware?

It ranks #16 of 18 agencies we have verified in Delaware — 2 pay less, 15 pay more in the state — and #1,726 of 2,288 nationally. Against the national median it is $9,185 below, and against other municipal agencies $10,640 below.

The agencies either side of it