Rockland Police Exam Registration Deadline Approaches

Rockland County Department of Personnel offers tests to become a police officer every four years.

The next exams are set for Nov. 17, but the registration deadline is Sept. 24. Applications and more information regarding those tests and other civil service examinations can be found here and on the county's police exam/tutorial page.

"They are good jobs and we need to fill them," said Rockland County Personnel Commissioner Joan Silvestri. "It's a nice career for folks. The first step is to get your name on the list."

That starts with passing the test. Silvestri said her office and the local police departments in the county have been making sure residents know this is their chance to take the exam.

"We’re recruiting at colleges," Silvestri said. "We have commercials out there. We want everybody to know it's only every four years. If you are interested, this is the time.

"We met with police chiefs months ago. They know what to do recruiting people as well."

Orangetown Police Chief Kevin Nulty has been spreading the word a number of ways, including setting up a table to help with recruiting at _Orangetown's National Night Out in August_.

Both the Orangetown and Clarkstown Police Departments are using automated signs that normally provide traffic information to post reminders of the upcoming registration deadline.

Silvestri said there normally is no need to offer the test more than every four years.

"Our list (of candidates) is normally long enough," Silvestri said. "We have a large enough pool of people who have passed the exam and scored well. (So we do it only every four years) rather than go through the expensive process of retesting everybody."

According to civil service law, the test results can be valid for anywhere from one to four years. Anyone not currently working in law enforcement when the list expires must take the test again to be eligible. She said if they gave the exam every year, potential candidates would have to take it each time.

One change this year is a $30 fee to take the police officer's exam. That covers more than just the administration of the test. The Rockland County Legislature passed the fee last year.

"The county must pay the state fees associated with the exams. From the $30, $15 goes right to the state," Silvestri said. "We have to pay for examination booklets, parking and scoring.

"If you are nominated off that list, other exams are required. A test of endurance and speed. If you are nominated, we have to send you for complete physical and psychological examinations. Then you can be appointed to police forces. The fee for them is a bit higher because it requires those additional expenses."

Another change is that applicants can test as being fluent in Creole or Yiddish. In the past, the only designation available was Spanish-speaking.

"It's the exact same test," Silvestri said. "It's one test and it's in English. If you are certified as qualified for another language, you go on a separate list. If you want to appoint Jim Smith off the Spanish-speaking list, then we test the person to make sure they have the proficiency in that language."