Police and Detectives

    During my career research, I looked into the position of becoming a Police Officer for the City of New York. I specifically chose this profession because Kingsborough Community College has a high rate of students who are majoring in Criminal Justice and I believe sharing my findings can help anyone further their own personal knowledge about this particular topic. 

    Police Officers protect lives and property. Their responsibilities are to; enforce laws, respond to calls for service, patrol assigned areas, conduct traffic stops and issue citations, arrest suspects, write detailed reports, and fill out forms, prepare for cases and testify in court if needed. The education and training requirements to become a New York City Police Officer is a High School diploma or its equivalent with an Associate’s Degree or 60 College credits, or 2 years of Military experience. Potential candidates must be a U.S. citizen, have a driver’s license with a clean driving record, be at least 21 years old but not older than 35 years of age at the time of appointment, and must meet all physical and psychological qualifications. If applicable a potential candidate will begin a 6 month training academy provided by the New York City Police Department to further the recruits’ knowledge on specific state laws, safety precautions for the officer(s) and the public, and many other job related skills.

    New York City Police Officers starting salary can begin at $29,000.00 per year and after 5 years can reach up to $60,000.00 per year, including allowances for uniforms, accessories and equipment. Another potential outlook for this particular career is the full medical benefits, retirement, and pension plans. Despite living in New York City where public service employees is always in demand and diversity is always on the rise because of the population, taking any civil service exam is the first step in getting on the City’s list for possible employment. However, because of the population and the demand along with the very competitive job market, expect to be on a waiting list for quite some time.

    Just a few of the potential people, programs, or departments anyone can go to too further seek information is the Criminal Justice Department in Kingsborough Community College, or Dr. Chapman in Room D-309. There is also the Police explorer program and the Police Cadet program for potential candidates who are almost ready to enter into the Police Academy. Also, there are multiple web-sites a person can visit, one of them being: www.nyc.gov/dcas . This site will show you all exams that are scheduled for the month and the year. It will also tell you where you can take the exam, times and exam fees. Good luck and remember…“Everyday do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.” – Doug Firebaugh

Thank you!

Jason Duran