Residence Requirements:

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS: THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will be used to fill future vacancies in Erie County Towns and Villages.  The maximum duration of the eligible list is three years.

FOR APPOINTMENT AS POLICE OFFICER:  In all Erie County Towns and Villages, preference may be given to candidates as provided for in Section 23.4 (a) of the NYS Civil Service Law and Rule VII of the Erie County Rules for the Classified Service.  Upon exhaustion of the list of such resident eligibles, certification shall be made from the whole eligible list.  Appointees may be required to become legal residents of the municipality wherein they receive appointment in accordance with local law or ordinance.

Examples of Duties:

A Police Officer is responsible for the enforcement of laws, ordinances and the protection of lives and property in an assigned area during a specified period; does related work as required.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements: Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and in addition, EITHER: 

A) Completion of 60 semester credit hours from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university at time of appointment;  OR

B) Completion of 30 semester credit hours from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university and completion of one year of active duty* military service (See Note 1.)  at time of appointment; OR

C)  An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B).

Notes:

 ***ALL APPOINTEES MUST HAVE COMPLETED AT LEAST 30 COLLEGE CREDIT HOURS.  Up to one (1) year of active duty military service may be substituted for education on the basis of one (1) month of active duty equals 2.5 college semester credit hours.

 Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.

All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

NOTE:  1. *Active duty military service does NOTinclude active duty for training. 2.  Up to one (1) year of active duty military service may be substituted for education on the basis of one (1) month of active duty equals 2.5 college semester credit hours.  3. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices.  A grade of D or better is required for a course to be credited as successfully completed.  If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency.  You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

AGE:  Candidates must be at least 19 years old on or before November 19, 2016, to be admitted to the test.  Eligibility for appointment begins when the candidate reaches age 20. Candidates who reach their 35^th birthday before the date of the written examination are not eligible except as follows*: Candidates may have a period of military duty or terminal leave up to six years, as defined in Section 243 (10-a) of the Military Law, deducted from their age for the purpose of meeting 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, Sabbath observance or for an alternate test date situation which meets the conditions of Erie County’s alternate test date policy) are advised to contact Erie County to discuss the request.

EDUCATION:  Candidates must have a high school diploma or possess a high school equivalency diploma issued by an education department of any State of the United States or hold a comparable diploma issued by any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States or by the Canal Zone or hold a report from the United States armed forces certifying successful completion of the tests of general education development, high school level.  Applicants who do not possess high school equivalency are eligible to take the examination but will not be eligible for appointment until they obtain an equivalency diploma.  For information on how to obtain a New York State Equivalency Diploma, write New York State Education Department, Albany, New York 12224.

PHYSICAL AND MEDICAL:  Candidates must have visual acuity of no worse than 20/100 in each eye uncorrected and must otherwise satisfy the medical and physical fitness standards prescribed by the NYS Municipal Police Training Council.  These physical and medical requirements are posted in the Erie County Personnel Department, 95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, New York, Room 604.  Note that an assessment of an individual's physical agility will be made.  Candidates should also be aware that an offer of employment as a police officer is contingent upon passing an appropriate medical examination. The agility test consists of bent-leg sit-ups, push-ups, and a 1.5 mile run and measures muscular endurance, muscular endurance of the upper body and cardiovascular activity.  The Municipal Police Training Council adopted the physical fitness screening test based on the model formulated by the Cooper Institute of Aerobics Research.  The minimum passing scores, depending on age and sex, represent the fortieth (40th) percentile of physical fitness as established by the Cooper Institute.  Candidates who pass the written test will receive more detailed information.  In addition, the standards are available for review at the Erie County Department of Personnel.  Agility testing will be performed before candidates are certified to appointing authorities and is expected to begin in late spring of 2017.  Both the medical exam and agility test are given on a pass/fail basis.  Re-tests will be permitted only in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the Commissioner of Personnel.

DRIVER'S LICENSE:  To be eligible for appointment candidates must possess a valid New York State Driver's License.

CITIZENSHIP: United States Citizenship is required at time of appointment.

CONVICTION OF A FELONY WILL BAR AND CONVICTION OF A MISDEMEANOR OR OTHER OFFENSE MAY BAR PARTICIPATION IN EXAMINATION AND APPOINTMENT.

A Guide for the Written Test for Police Entrance is available at the New York State website: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm. Candidates not having access to a computer or the internet may request copy of the test guide from the municipal civil service office conducting this examination using the contact information found elsewhere on this announcement.

Subjects of Examination:

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

1. Applying written information (rules, regulations, policies, procedures, directives, etc.) in police situations

These questions test for the ability to apply written rules in given situations similar to those typically experienced by police officers.

2. Memory for facts and information

These questions test for the ability to remember facts and information presented in written form. You will be given 5 minutes to read and study the information in the Memory Booklet. After the 5-minute period, the Memory Booklet will be taken away. You will then be required to answer questions about the material that was presented in the Memory Booklet.

3. Reading, understanding and interpreting written information

These questions test for the ability to read, understand, and interpret the kinds of written information that police officers are required to read during their formal training period and on the job.

4. Preparing written material in a police setting

These questions test for the ability to prepare the types of reports that police officers write. You will be presented with a page of notes followed by several questions. Each question will consist of four restatements of the information given in the notes. From each set of four, you must choose the version that presents the information most clearly and accurately.

The rating key for this examination will be established by the New York State Civil Service Commission prior to the date of the test, upon recommendation of a committee of police experts who will review all the questions for appropriateness and the key answers for correctness. There will be no review of the questions by candidates. This committee was selected with the assistance and endorsement of the Police Conference of New York, Inc., the New York State Association of PBA's, Inc., and the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  Use of calculators is prohibited for this examination.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", "Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

CANDIDATES WHO PASS THE WRITTEN TEST WILL BE REQUIRED TO PASS A QUALIFYING MEDICAL AND PHYSICAL AGILITY TEST.  FAILURE ON EITHER QUALIFYING TEST WILL BAR CANDIDATES FROM APPOINTMENT.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $30.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.