Rockland County Police/Patrol Officer Exam

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Graduation from high school or possession of an equivalency diploma and either:

a.           Two (2) years of paid work experience**, or two (2) years of active military service or a combination of the two; or

b.           An Associate’s degree or equivalent college credits (minimum of sixty (60) credits); or

c.           Completion of thirty (30) college credit hours and one (1) year of paid work experience**, active military service or a combination of the two.

*Work experience while a full time high school student is not qualifying.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

1.           Possession of a valid New York State driver’s license at the time of appointment and throughout the duration of employment in this title. The appointing authority shall have the responsibility for the verification of the driver’s license which may be checked throughout the course of employment in this title.

2.           Prior to appointment, candidates must meet minimum physical, medical, and psychological standards as prescribed by the Municipal Police Training Council of the State of New York.

3.           Prior to appointment, candidates must successfully complete a pre-employment drug screen, background and fingerprint check.

4.           Candidates must be at least 19 years old on or before the date of the examination. Eligibility for appointment as a Police Officer begins when the candidate reaches age 20. Candidates who reach their 35th birthday on or before the date of the written examination are not qualified*** except as follows: Candidates may have a period of military duty or terminal leave, up to seven (7) years as defined in Section 243 (10-a) of the Military Law, deducted from their age for purposes of determining whether they meet the age requirement.

***Section 58.1 of the New York State Civil Service Law requires applicants not be “more than 35 years of age as of the date when the applicant takes the written exam”.

5.           Satisfactory completion of the Municipal Police Basic Training program, as required by the New York State General Municipal Law (Section 209-q). See also Rockland County Civil Service Rule XVI, paragraph 10, which provides that the appointment of a Police Officer shall not become permanent until such training requirements are satisfied.

6.           Public Officer Requirements: In order to be eligible for appointment, candidates must meet all current requirements of Section 3 of the Public Officers Law, including, but not limited to United States citizenship and New York State residency; some jurisdictions may require residency therein or within certain geographical limits.

7.           Condition of Employment: Must be legally authorized to possess a firearm throughout the course of employment in this title.

A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and/or abilities in the following areas:

1.           Situational Judgement – These questions test for the ability to identify appropriate and effective responses to work-related challenges. You will be presented with scenarios that reflect the types of challenges one could encounter in a work environment. Each scenario will be followed by several responses to the scenario. You must rate the effectiveness of each response.

2.           Language Fluency – These questions test for the ability to read, understand, and present a clear and accurate summary of information. For some questions, you will be given a brief reading passage followed by four statements, each summarizing the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given several sentences, one of which contains a spelling, grammatical, or punctuation error. You must then select the line that contains the error.

3.           Information Ordering and Language Sequencing – These questions test for the ability to properly identify the sequence or order of events, or to organize information to fit a timeline. You will be given a brief reading passage followed by one or more questions. You must identify the proper sequence of events in order to answer one or more questions.

4.           Problem Sensitivity and Reasoning – These questions test for the ability to apply information and to identify a problem or potential problem. For some questions, you will be given information in the form of policies, rules, regulations, or laws, which will be followed by a situation. You must then identify the problem and apply the information to select the best course of action to take. For other questions, you will be given a scenario and mock witness statements. You must use this information to answer one or more questions about the scenario.

5.           Selective Attention – These questions test for the ability to focus on completing a task and to pay attention to important details while performing repetitive and monotonous tasks. You will be presented with a series of letters, symbols, and/or numbers. You must select the choice that contains the series of letters, symbols, and/or number that matches exactly.

6.           Visualization – These questions test for the ability to imagine how something will look when it is moved around or when its parts are changed, moved, or rearranged. You will be presented with an image of a face followed by four images of faces. Each face is disguised or altered in some way. Three of the images have a difference in facial structure or facial features. You must select the choice that contains the image with the identical facial structure and facial features.

7.           Spatial Orientation – These questions test for the ability to understand how to navigate within spaces or how to get from one point to another. You will be provided with a map followed by one or more questions. You must imagine yourself at a certain location and orient yourself to the direction in which you would move to get to another location by the shortest (least distance) route.

Physical Fitness Requirements

The three components measured are muscular endurance (core body), muscular endurance (upper body) and cardiovascular capacity. A brief description of the test items used to measure each component follow:

• Sit-up – Muscular Endurance (Core Body) – The score indicated is the number of bent-leg sit-ups performed in one minute.
• Push-up – Muscular Endurance (Upper Body) – The score indicated is the maximum number of full body repetitions that a candidate must complete without breaks in one minute.
• 1.5 Mile Run – Cardiovascular Capacity – The score indicated is calculated in minutes:seconds.
  (To be administered only to those candidates who have passed the Sit-ups and Push-ups)

Age/Sex - Male	Sit-Up	Push-Up	1.5 Mile Run
20-29	38	29	12:38
30-39	35	24	12:58
40-49	29	18	13:50
50-59	24	13	15:06
60+	19	10	16:46

Age/Sex - Female	Sit-Up	Push-Up	1.5 Mile Run
20-29	32	15	14:50
30-39	25	11	15:43
40-49	20	9	16:31
50-59	14	n/a	18:18
60+	6	n/a	20:16

Although these elements may not be directly representative of essential job functions to be performed by an entry-level Police Officer or Patrol Officer, such elements do measure the candidate’s physiological capacity to learn and perform the essential job functions.  Candidates are required to remit an administrative fee in the amount of $25.00. This fee is required to be paid each time a candidate participates in a physical fitness screening test. The Department of Personnel reserves the right to amend the administrative fee at any time during the life of the eligible list. All physical fitness screening test fees are non-refundable. 

The minimum passing scores, depending on age and sex, represent the fortieth percentile of physical fitness.  If a candidate does not successfully score to the 40^th percentile of physical fitness for each of the elements, the candidate shall not be deemed to have successfully completed the physical fitness-screening test.  Failure on the physical fitness-screening test will restrict your name from certification of the eligible list until you have successfully completed the physical fitness-screening test.  The Department of Personnel offers one opportunity for a retest for those who have failed the physical fitness test on their first opportunity. Candidates who request a retest will be scheduled to participate in the second attempt at the next scheduled physical fitness screening test. Candidates who are unsuccessful in passing the second retest will have their name permanently removed for the life of that eligible list.

Please be aware that the Rockland County Department of Personnel has a strict retest policy regarding the physical fitness-screening test.  The policy is available here: 

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RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR POLICE OFFICER:  If you are not a legal resident of Rockland County by the examination date, there may be limited opportunity from this list inasmuch as the names of local eligibles may be certified first to towns and villages on the basis of local residence in accordance with Civil Service Law.  When preference in certification is given to residents of a municipality pursuant to subdivision 4-a of Section 23 of the Civil Service Law, an eligible must be at the time of certification, and for at least sixty (60) days prior to such certification, a resident of the municipality in order to be included in a certification as a resident of such municipality and must be a resident of such municipality at the time of appointment. 

Candidates for this examination must be legal residents of Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Westchester, Dutchess*, Sullivan*, Ulster*, Nassau*, Suffolk*, Bronx*, New York* or Queens* Counties as of the examination date and must reside in one of these counties at the time of appointment.  Residence in New York State for at least one (1) year and in one of the foregoing counties for at least six (6) months at the time of appointment is required.  Candidates not having this required length of residence in the State will be admitted to the examination, but not certified for appointment until this requirement is met.  Candidates who at the time of examination reside in a county starred (*) above will be eligible for appointment only in those town or village police forces for which they would qualify under the provisions of Subdivision 2, Section 3 of the Public Officers Law.  A chart is available here.

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR POLICE OFFICER – TOWN OF RAMAPO ONLY:  The person or persons holding the position of a Town of Ramapo police officer must, from the time of the initial administration of the oath of office as a police officer in the Town of Ramapo, remain a Town of Ramapo resident at all times for at least two years after taking said initial oath of office as a Town of Ramapo police officer. The term "resident", as used in this section shall have the same meaning as "residence" as defined under New York State Election Law § 1-104(22). Nothing herein shall apply to any newly hired police officers for the Town of Ramapo as a result of any merger or disbandment of any police department within the County of Rockland, New York.

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR PATROL OFFICER:  You must be a legal resident of Rockland County in order to be eligible to be certified out to the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department.  When preference in certification is given to residents of a municipality pursuant to subdivision 4-a of Section 23 of the Civil Service Law, an eligible must be at the time of certification, and for at least sixty (60) days prior to such certification, a resident of the municipality in order to be included in a certification as a resident of such municipality and must be a resident of such municipality at the time of appointment.  Eligibles must remain a New York State resident to retain employment.

 SPECIAL AGE REQUIREMENTS:  Candidates must be at least 19 years old on or before September 28, 2024 to be admitted to the written test.  Eligibility for appointment as a Police Officer or Patrol Officer begins when the candidate reaches age 20.  Candidates who reach their 35^th birthday on or before the September 28, 2024 written examination are not qualified except as follows:* Candidates may have a period of military duty or terminal leave, up to seven years as defined in Section 243 (10-a) of the Military Law, deducted from their age for purposes of determining whether they meet the age requirement.

*Section 58.1(a) requires that applicants not be “more than thirty-five years of age as of the date when the applicant takes the written examination…”.  Candidates who may be impacted by the maximum age requirement and who are requesting an alternate test date (for active military duty, religious observance or for an alternate test date situation which meets the conditions of the agency’s alternate test date policy) are advised to contact our department to discuss their request before the last filing date.

TRAINING REQUIREMENT:  Individuals must satisfactorily complete the Municipal Police Basic Training Program (as required by Section 209-q of the General Municipal Law).  See also Rockland County Civil Service Rule XVI, paragraph 10, which provides that the appointment of a Police Officer, Police Officer (Part Time) or Patrol Officer, shall not become permanent until such training requirements are satisfied.

MEDICAL, PHYSICAL FITNESS, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND FINGERPRINT CHECK:  These qualifying portions will be held at a later date for passing candidates (The physical fitness test will be administered prior to nomination).  If you pass the written portion, are reachable for appointment and are nominated by the appointing authority, you will then be scheduled for a comprehensive medical examination, including a substance abuse screening, psychological evaluation and fingerprint check.  All candidates must meet the standards established by the Municipal Police Training Council, which have been adopted by the Rockland County Department of Personnel. 

An individual should not forego taking the written test or consider themselves ineligible for Police Officer or Patrol Officer employment solely because they cannot presently meet the current standards.  The qualifying test standards are subject to change without notice to candidates.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION:  Prior conduct and behavior as well as general reputation in the community will be reviewed to determine fitness of character.  Conviction of a felony will bar you from examination and appointment; conviction of a misdemeanor or other offense may so bar you.  Military service, education and prior work experience are all subject to investigation and verification.  False statements made on the application form may constitute a criminal offense and would likely cause removal from the position upon discovery.

USE OF LIST:  The eligible list will be established on the basis of passing scores received on the written test plus any additional veteran credits, if applicable.  Passing candidates must then pass all qualifying tests as well as receive fingerprint clearance in order to be certified for permanent or contingent permanent appointment from the eligible list.  Medical requirements must be met at the time of the medical examination and at the time of appointment.  Appointments are made by the selection of an eligible whose final rating in the test is equal to or higher than the rating of the third highest ranking eligible on the list willing to accept the appointment at the time of canvass.  Local eligible residents may be certified first to towns and villages in Rockland County for the title of Police Officer or Police Officer (Part Time) and only residents of Rockland County will be certified to the title of Patrol Officer.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

1. ADMISSION TO EXAMINATIONS: Candidates will be sent an Admission Notice by e-mail at least one (1) week prior to the exam date.  If you do not receive this notification within three days of the date of examination, it is your responsibility to contact this office immediately at RCExams@co.rockland.ny.us or (845) 364-3737.  You will not be admitted to the examination site without this official notice, nor will you be admitted more than thirty (30) minutes after the exam has commenced.  Refer to the Admission Notice for all required information.
2. The eligible list established as a result of this test will remain in existence for a maximum of four years.
3. New York State Law requires that each passing candidate be subject to a mandatory search of the criminal history records of the Division of Criminal Justice Services for the purpose of disclosing the existence of any possible disqualifying criminal record.  Consequently, prior to permanent appointment, a passing eligible will be scheduled for a fingerprint check.  At that time, pursuant to Chapter 548 of the Laws of 1976, the Division of Criminal Justice Services requires each request for such search be accompanied by a fee to be submitted by the appointee.  The refusal of the appointee to submit such a required fee shall constitute a declination of a valid offer of appointment.
4. Candidates who fail the examination or who fail to appear for any portion(s) of the test as scheduled, will be eliminated from further consideration for the purposes of this examination.
5. In case of adverse weather conditions or other unexpected events impacting the examination, candidates are instructed to check our website:https://www.rocklandcountyny.gov/departments/personnel.

RATINGS AND REVIEW:  When the written examination is being prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23.2 of the Civil Service Law, the provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations dealing with the rating and review of examinations apply.  Tests are rated on a scale of 100 with the pass point of 70.0.  You must pass the written test as a whole along with the oral and practical tests, if any.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY:  It is the policy of the Rockland County Department of Personnel to provide for and promote equal opportunity in employment, compensation and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or arrest and/or criminal conviction record, military status or other legally protected status, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.  Military personnel or Saturday religious observers who need special testing arrangements must note this on their applications.  In addition, it is our policy, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity to participate in and receive any benefits, services, programs and activities.  Persons with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications (e.g. braille booklet, amanuensis, reader, sign language interpreter, extra time, etc.) must make the request on their application.

 

POLICE OFFICER (FRENCH/CREOLE-SPEAKING) (OC): NYS #86950010 RC/EL #24177 - The work is distinguished from that of a Police Officer in that some of the duties performed in this position require the incumbent to possess speaking and reading ability in French/Creole at a language fluency Level II.  

POLICE/PATROL OFFICER (SPANISH-SPEAKING) (OC): NYS #87109010 RC/EL #24176 - The work is distinguished from that of a Police/Patrol Officer in that some of the duties performed in this position require the incumbent to possess speaking and reading ability in Spanish at a language fluency Level II.  

POLICE OFFICER (YIDDISH-SPEAKING) (OC): NYS #86951010 RC/EL #24178 - The work is distinguished from that of a Police Officer in that some of the duties performed in this position require the incumbent to possess speaking and reading ability in Yiddish at a language fluency Level II.  

In all instances, only a sufficient number of candidates needed to fill the present vacancies will be called to take part in this qualifying portion of the examination to be held at a later date.  As additional vacancies occur, other candidates who were successful on the written portion of the examination will be invited to take the qualifying oral test.  Candidates must pass both parts of this examination in order to be eligible for appointment.  This Language Oral Proficiency Test is held on a pass-fail basis.  The qualifying oral language proficiency test will be waived for candidates who have previously passed an oral test at the required proficiency level given under the direction of this department or in any local jurisdiction in New York State.  If you wish to waive the oral portion of the exam, a request in writing must be submitted within thirty days of the written test to our department indicating the title, number of the test and the jurisdiction for which it was held.  Those who receive written notification of failing the oral test, may make a request in writing within thirty days for a retest.  The Rockland County Department of Personnel reserves the right to offer one more retest to all those candidates who failed or failed to appear for the first oral language proficiency test.  Retests will not be scheduled until all passing candidates have been given an opportunity for testing.  A candidate must qualify on both portions of the examination in order to be eligible for appointment from the resulting eligible list.  

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SPECIAL EXAM ARRANGEMENTS:  Candidates, who for religious reasons, cannot be tested on Saturday, September 28, 2024, must indicate this information on their application.  All other requests for alternate test dates (including special testing arrangements for active military members) must be submitted at least three (3) weeks prior to the examination date.  The requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for compliance with our Alternate Test Date Guidelines, available here: Applicant/Candidate Resources & Forms | Rockland County, NY (rocklandcountyny.gov).  Applicants with disabilities who require a special accommodation should contact our department immediately.

CROSS FILER STATEMENT:  If you have applied for or will be applying for any other civil service examination to be given on the same test date for employment with any local government jurisdiction excluding New York City, you must make arrangements to take all the examinations at one test site.  If you have applied only for other Local government examinations, you must notify, in writing, the Rockland County Department of Personnel that you have applied for other local government tests no later than three weeks before the test date.  You must also notify, along with the Rockland County Department of Personnel, all Local government civil service agencies with whom you have filed any application and been approved, of the test site at which you wish to take your examinations.  In order to make these arrangements, you must complete a “Cross Filer” form and submit it to our office no later than three weeks prior to the examination date.  The “Cross Filer” form is available here: Applicant/Candidate Resources & Forms | Rockland County, NY (rocklandcountyny.gov).  If you do not have internet access, you may write or call our department at the Rockland County Department of Personnel, 50 Sanatorium Road, Building A, Pomona, New York 10970, (845) 364-3737 to obtain the form.

ALTERNATE EXAM DATE FOR ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY:  New York State Military Law Section 243-b(1) states:  “Any member of the armed forces who properly filed, within the announced filing period, an application for a competitive examination but was unable to participate in the examination due to active military service, must be provided with a special alternate exam date.  This applies to veterans covered by Section 242 or 243 of the Military Law, as well as any other applicant who, due to active military service, was prevented from participating in a competitive examination from which they timely filed an application.”

A candidate eligible for a military alternate exam date does not have to wait until discharge from active duty to take the test.  Completing the exam at the earliest possible opportunity is advisable, since alternate candidates, who pass, can only have their scores added to the existing eligible list for which the individual was originally unable to participate.  Each approved applicant requesting a military alternate exam date will be sent a letter explaining the terms and conditions under which the exam will be given.  A military alternate exam date is not limited to written tests; if an applicant is unable to appear for any other portion of examination, then they would be entitled to an alternate exam date.

SPECIAL MILITARY LISTS:  New York State Military Law Section 243(7) states:  “While on military duty, any candidate whose name is on a list shall retain his/her rights and status on the list pursuant to Section 243(7) of the Military Law.  If reached for certification while on military duty, the candidate’s name must be placed on a special eligible list, if requested following termination of military duty and if the list in question is still in existence.  The veteran’s name remains on the special eligible list for up to two years from the termination of military duty.”

New York State Military Law Section 243(7-b) states:  “A candidate who has already passed part of an examination but has been unable to complete the remaining parts of the examination due to military duty must be given the opportunity to complete the examination.  The eligible list resulting from the original holding need not be in existence.  If the candidate passes the remaining parts of the examination, his/her name must be placed on the original list if it is still in existence.  If the candidate’s name would have been reached for certification on the original list any time between entry into military duty and notification of passing the examination, his/her name must also be placed on a special eligible list.  The special eligible list shall remain in effect for two years from the date the service member’s name is added to the list.  The special eligible list must be certified before any open-competitive or promotion list.”

A Special Military Eligible List must be certified to the appropriate appointing authority first prior to the current open-competitive eligible list.  Appointment from a special military list is not mandatory unless the list contains the names of three or more acceptors for a position filled from the list.

VETERAN’S CREDITS:  Eligible disabled or non-disabled war veterans may have ten or five points, respectively, added to their earned passing score on the open-competitive examination.  You should request our “Information on Veteran’s Credits Form” for details on how to apply and exact dates of war service.  This form is also available on our website:

https://www.rocklandcountyny.gov/departments/personnel.  Veterans or disabled veterans who are eligible for additional credit must make their request for additional credits on the application for examination and must attach a copy of their DD214 Separation from Service Papers.  Veteran’s credits can only be added to a passing score on the examination.

Effective January 1, 1998, the State Constitution was amended to permit a candidate currently in the armed forces to apply for and be conditionally granted veteran’s credits on examinations.  Any candidate who applies for such credit must provide proof of military status to receive the conditional credit.  No credit may be granted after the establishment of the eligible list.  It is the responsibility of the candidate to provide appropriate documentary proof indicating that the service was in time of war, as defined in Section 85 of Civil Service Law, and that the candidate received an honorable discharge or was released under honorable conditions in order to be certified at a score including veteran’s credits.

Effective September 17, 2002, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an additional ten points on a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served.  If you are qualified to participate in this examination and are a child of a firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty in this municipality, please inform this office of this matter when you submit your application for examination.  A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the last date to file of October 14, 2024 to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility.  However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has been established.

Effective January 1, 2014, Article 5, Section 6 of the New York State Constitution was amended to entitle veterans who have used non-disabled veteran credits for a civil service appointment or promotion and who were/are subsequently certified as being a disabled veteran by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, to additional credits for a subsequent appointment or promotion.  This Constitutional amendment provides additional veteran credits to veterans who:

1. Used non-disabled veteran’s credits to obtain a civil service appointment or promotion with New York State or local government; and
2. Subsequent to such appointment are determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to be a qualified disabled veteran, as defined in the New York State Civil Service Law.

Such candidate shall be entitled to 10 additional credits on civil service examinations, minus the number of credits already used for the prior appointment.

 

A Guide to the Written Test for Entry-Level Law Enforcement Officer Series is available at the New York State Department of Civil Service website: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm or the Rockland County Department of Personnel website: https://rocklandcountyny.gov/departments/personnel/applicant-candidate-resources-forms.  If you do not have access to the internet, you may contact the Rockland County Department of Personnel to request a copy at (845) 364-3737 or RCEXAMS@co.rockland.ny.us.