NJ police agencies located within municipalities, counties, and state organizations that are designated as Civil Service, hire new employees through the State of NJ Civil Service Commission.  The Civil Service Commission is a State of NJ agency created and governed by Title 4A of the NJ Administrative Code. Meaning the basic day-to-day operations are over seen by the Director and major policy decisions and changes are determined by the NJ legislature, meaning the Governor, State Assembly and Senate when they create and vote into policy new or amended laws.    

The way it works is fairly basic. The Civil Service Commission posts job vacancies on their website as well as other media outlets. Interested candidates complete applications for open positions to the Civil Service, take any tests that may be required, and upon passing and completing whatever steps are necessary for the particular position, have their names submitted on a list to the hiring authority usually in a ranking order based on test results.

Most state government positions in New Jersey are Civil Service designated, as well as county, and some municipalities. So visiting the Civil Service website is a place to find jobs throughout many different occupations, not only law enforcement.

This is the short explanation. There are many exceptions.

The NJ State Police is NOT Civil Service designated for the position of State Trooper. The State Police hire through their own Human Resources department using their own Recruiting Unit and set their own guidelines and hire completely independent of the Civil Service Commission.   

Somerset County is not Civil Service designated for ANY of their positions including law enforcement.

For all of those interested in municipal and other policing positions, please understand the following:

Out of roughly 479 municipal police departments roughly, 182 are Civil Service. Some college police departments are also Civil Service along with most county sheriffs’ departments, most prisons and jails, county police departments, park police, etc.  You need to know if the agency you are looking at is Civil Service or NOT!

If an agency is Civil Service designated, the only way they can hire you for a Full Time Regular Police Officer position, is if you go through the Civil Service Commission process. However, these law enforcement agencies will hire for other police positions such as Special Officer Class I and II, Police Dispatcher, Records Clerk, etc. outside of the Civil Service.

So, if you send your resume to these agencies you need to know which designations they are so that you follow the proper channels.

The Civil Service Commission tests every TWO years for the position of Police Officer. They announce and test using the title: Entry Level Law Enforcement Examination. All of the information you need to know is on their website.   For most law enforcement police officer positions, you must be under 35 years of age at the close of the announcement. Read the “Maximum Age Requirements” brochure for better clarification along with the exceptions for the rule.

Fore much more information on this topic, you can purchase the book, “How to Become a New Jersey Police Officer or State Trooper”.  Additionally, you should read all available information at the Civil Service Commission website and especially, the Frequently Asked Questions (faq) section.

The Civil Service Commission is announcing the next law enforcement exam on June 1, 2010 with an approximate test date of Fall 2010.

DO NOT miss this date or test!

For a complete listing of New Jersey police agencies and their hiring designation, visit http://NJ-Police-Recruit.com/nj-agency-profiles.html

Once the test is administered, law enforcement agencies throughout NJ with the exception of the NJ State Police (they have their own testing process currently underway) that are designated “Civil Service” agencies, hire new police officers from the list of passing scores that the Civil Service Commission submits to the agency after an exam is given. Usually, agencies request lists by zip code or municipality (Town/City) or sometimes by (County), and if the agency is statewide like the Human Services Police, then the list is sorted by highest to lowest scores within all of NJ.

In these cases the Civil Service Commission will then go into their data base of passing grades and submit the appropriate list to the requesting agency. In the case of a State Agency, the list would then be the highest scores in the state. With roughly 25,000 people taking the test, you can just imagine how high you need to score to be considered!

The names of candidates are always given by highest ranking scores to lowest. So for example, if Freehold Borough Police Department was hiring 1 police officer, they would request a list of roughly the top 20 candidates by score that reside in Freehold Borough. They would start at #1 on the list and as long as the candidate was still interested in the position and there wasn’t anything negative in his or her background check, that candidate would be hired and the other 19 would have to wait and hope another job became available during the life of the list which is around two years.

That being said, it is HIGHLY important you do two things in preparation for the test.

Register for every category of Law Enforcement positions on the Civil Service Exam

1. Score very high on the test by taking a test preparation class.

The first time I took the Civil Service Test, I scored somewhere between 58 and 72, I can’t quite remember, and with a score that low, it doesn’t really matter. This was around 1992 and for the next two years, I didn’t hear from a single agency! Needless to say, I was very disappointed and couldn’t understand how I could fail especially since I had good grades in English and Math in College.

Several years later, in 2002, I learned about the Bernstein and Associates test preparation course http://www.bernsteintestprep.com/ that is offered just before each new Civil Service Exam which again, is every two years. I enrolled early and was able to attend the free introductory seminar followed by the full class. I attended the seminar in Carteret NJ and listened very carefully to the instruction from the two NJ police lieutenants that instruct the program along with Dr. Bernstein. The instruction they gave over a two day period was invaluable.

Note*

This year’s Entry Level Law Enforcement Exam will be a new 3-part test developed by a psychologist, and Dr. Bernstein is a psychologist who has developed these types of tests. Common sense says better to go to a psychologist for a “personality and bio-data test,” since they are the profession that actually create these types of test!   

After taking the class, I continued to study the text book materials that I had received.  Approximately another month or two later, I took the test again for the second time in my life, at the same location as the first time. It was like the movie “Ground Hog Day”! Back to the Middletown South High School with knots in my stomach, there was no way I was going to perform poorly again!

I remember receiving my test booklet and being told not to touch it until the proctor finished giving the instructions for the exam. A minute or two later which seemed like an eternity, I was allowed to start the test and eagerly flipped it over. I remember beginning the test because I was extremely excited and had studied the Bernsteintestprep.com course for many, many hours. I have to mention I was slightly doubtful as well.

However, much to my surprise and enjoyment, the test followed the exact same program that I was taught at Dr. Bernstein’s school. I nervously took the test section by section but I was actually nervous with excitement. Because this time, I was going to master the test and not be crushed by it! So, to make a long story short, I completed the test in the allotted time, section by section and left the school feeling very confident and relieved!    

There were a few questions I could have done a little better on if I had studied more, but overall I was very happy! So after waiting for what seemed like another eternity, the day arrived once again where a sealed notice arrived at my mailbox from the Civil Service. With my poor stomach in knots again, I tore it open. I can’t describe the feeling I had when I saw the score of 93.5, but I can tell you I felt VICTORIUS!

What a sigh of relief! Remember when you were in school and you took an important test? If you scored in the 90’s, you knew you had accomplished a great score and you could be happy; anything else was like a bonus! After a score like that, you wouldn’t be upset with yourself because knew you did very well! However, in my case, there was a tiny part of me that wished that I studied even more and had done a little better just because in the end, it’s a competitive exam. In the end though, I was proud of myself and at the same time, became a solid believer of the Dr. Bernstein program and was very happy that my cousin had told me about it!

Several months later I started receiving notices from law enforcement agencies that were hiring. My name was at the top of their lists and I started getting calls for interviews.

You can read more about me and my experiences through this website and blog. I also have written another 186 pages on this topic in the book (manual) “How to Become a New Jersey Police Officer or State Trooper”

There is so much more to this process other than just taking the test and scoring well. However, that is one of the first steps you must take to get into this career field. Keep reading this blog, register for instant alerts at Twitter.com/njpolicerecruit , register for the www.NJ-Police-Recruit.com email list, and feel free to email Info@NJ-Police-Recruit.com with any questions.

In the meantime, don’t wait any longer to register for Dr. Bernstein’s class. It is filling up quickly and YOU WILL get locked out! I have seen it happen before. Again, the consequences are having to wait two more years to take the exam again, and when you are waiting to start a career, that feels like an eternity!

And as always, Good Luck, Be Well, and most importantly, Be Safe!

Michael DiLieto