Ulster
County Personnel Department
Civil
Service Examination Announcement
FILING
FEE $40.00
#65549
POLICE OFFICER/DEPUTY SHERIFF
OPEN-COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION
LAST DATE FOR FILING
APPLICATIONS: October 4, 2012
EXAMINATION DATE: November 17, 2012
Note: Applications bearing an original signature
must be received or postmarked no later than October 4, 2012. Applications received or postmarked after October
4, 2012 will NOT be accepted.
APPLICANTS MUST BE LEGAL
RESIDENTS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES:
Appointments from the
resulting Eligible List will be made, if applicable, in accordance with Public
Officer's Law Section 3.2, which concerns residency limitations for Police
Officer candidates. Not all of the above
residents are eligible for appointment in every local jurisdiction.
Preference may be given to
Note: If you indicate a Post Office box number on
your application, you MUST also indicate your legal residence.
The eligible list established
as a result of this examination will be used where appropriate to fill
full-time and part-time vacancies as they occur for Deputy Sheriff positions in
the Ulster County Sheriff's Department, and for Police Officer positions in the
Towns and Villages in
SALARY: The 2013 starting salary for Deputy Sheriff
is currently listed at $19.13 per hour.
The starting
salary for Police Officer varies by location.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Graduation from high-school or possession of
an equivalency diploma AND EITHER:
A. Completion of sixty (60)
credit hours at a regionally accredited or
B. Completion of thirty (30)
credit hours at a regionally accredited or
2. The equivalent of one (1) year
of full time work experience in a criminal justice field, for example police
officer, correction officer, police dispatcher, investigator or licensed
security guard; OR
C. Four (4) years of
satisfactory, full-time work experience or it’s pro-rated part-time equivalent
in any field of employment; OR
D. An equivalent amount of training and
experience as defined by the limits of A, B and C above.
Special
Requirements:
1. United States Citizenship is
required at time of appointment.
2. Possession of a valid New York
State Driver's license is required at time of appointment.
Notes:
1. Successful completion of
Police-related training programs, such as Police training offered by a BOCES or
the Municipal Police Training Council (MPTC) course, may count towards meeting
the credit requirements above, if
the candidate obtains college credits for the courses through a
regionally-accredited or
2. Candidates may qualify for
part-time appointments with two (2) years of full-time permanent competitive
class status as a Police Officer or Deputy Sheriff in
3. There are various laws, rules and
regulations governing appointments to the title of Police Officer in areas such
as, but not limited to: age, height, weight,
physical fitness, and training. To be appointed, candidates must meet
all established requirements applicable to
specific positions at the time of appointment.
Special
Requirements:
Age: Candidates must be at least 19 years of age
on or before November 17, 2012 to be admitted to the written test. 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 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. YOUR DATE OF BIRTH IS REQUIRED ON YOUR
APPLICATION.
*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 the
agency's alternate test date policy) are advised to contact the Ulster County
Personnel Department to discuss their request.
Citizenship:
Driver's
License: Candidates must possess a
valid New York State Operator's License at time of appointment.
NOTE: Conviction of a felony will
bar appointment, and conviction of a misdemeanor or other offense may bar
appointment. A background check will be completed for all candidates prior to
appointment.
Medical
and Physical Fitness Tests: Applicants who successfully pass the written
examination and a physical fitness test who are conditionally offered
employment, will be required to participate in a medical fitness test. The medical and physical fitness standards
are those established for police officers by the New York State Municipal
Police Training Council, Division of Criminal Justice Services. Candidates are responsible for all fees
associated with Medical and Physical Fitness Tests.
Substance Abuse Testing: All
candidates for Police Officer/Deputy Sheriff will be substance abuse tested
prior to appointment at the time of the medical fitness test. Evidence of
substance abuse or refusal to submit to a urinalysis shall result in
disqualification from appointment.
Candidates are responsible for all fees associated with Substance Abuse
Testing.
ANTICIPATED ELIGIBILITY (FOR
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION ‘A’ ONLY):
If
you expect to complete the educational requirement within six months of the
date of examination, you may apply. If
successful on the examination, you will not be certified for appointment until
you have submitted proof of completion of the requirements to the Ulster County
Personnel Department.
WHERE COLLEGE IS A
REQUIREMENT, YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO SUBMIT COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS NO LATER THAN DECEMBER
3, 2012 OR YOU WILL BE UNCONDITIONALLY DISQUALIFIED. IF COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS ARE ALREADY ON FILE
WITH OUR OFFICE, INDICATE THIS ON YOUR APPLICATION. ONCE SUBMITTED, COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS WILL BE
HELD ON FILE IN OUR OFFICE FOR A PERIOD OF TEN YEARS. TRANSCRIPTS NEED
NOT BE OFFICIAL COPIES; HOWEVER, THEY MUST CONTAIN ALL INFORMATION
NECESSARY TO QUALIFY YOU FOR THIS POSITION.
NOTE: If your degree and/or college credit was
awarded by an educational institution outside of the
APPLICATION
REVIEW TOLERANCE POLICY
For
the purposes of this policy, "tolerance" shall mean the leeway given
regarding work experience when reviewing an application. Applicants lacking a
small amount of work experience when applying for promotional or
open-competitive examinations may qualify under the following conditions:
1)
Candidates will be given a maximum tolerance of one (1) month.
2)
Tolerance
will be given only when the minimum qualification requires one or more
years of work experience.
3)
Tolerance
Policy does not apply to education or licensure/certification
requirements. (See particular examination announcement for "Anticipated
Eligibility" information).
4)
Tolerance
Policy does not apply where required work experience is set forth by law
or rules.
5)
Tolerance
Policy does not apply to enable applicants to meet residence
requirements.
For
more information regarding Tolerance Policy, please contact our office at (845)
340-3550.
DISTINGUISHING
FEATURES OF THE CLASS:
The work involves responsibility for the enforcement of laws, ordinances and
the protection of lives and property in an assigned area of the county during a
specific period. The work consists
primarily of routine patrol tasks, the investigation of criminal offenses and
the apprehension of criminal offenders.
Work is performed under the direct supervision of a higher-ranking
officer whether performing patrol duties or on special assignment, with leeway
allowed for the exercise of sound judgement in
emergencies and when the direction or guidance of a higher-ranking officer is
unavailable. Supervision over the work
others is not normally a function of this
position, however, advisory supervision over the work of less experienced
personnel may be required on occasion.
Does related work as required.
SUBJECT
OF EXAMINATION:
There will be a written test
which you must pass in order to be considered for appointment. Only your score
on the written test will be considered when computing your final score. In
addition, candidates must meet the physical fitness and medical standards
prescribed by the Municipal Police Training Council. Candidates must pass the written test in
order to be scheduled for the qualifying physical fitness test.
WRITTEN
TEST: Written test will cover knowledge, skills,
and/or abilities in such areas as:
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.
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.
A Guide to Taking the Examination
for Entry-Level Police Officer Series is available at the Ulster County
Personnel Department or at the New York State Department of Civil Service web
site: http://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm. A copy of this guide may be obtained in
person at the
NOTICE
TO CANDIDATES: THE USE OF CALCULATORS/SLIDE RULES IS PROHIBITED
IN THIS EXAMINATION.
QUALIFYING
PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST
The three elements measured in
the qualifying physical fitness test are muscular endurance, absolute strength
and cardiovascular capacity. The following is a brief description of the
physical fitness test.
Muscular Endurance – The
requirement is for a number of bent-leg sit-ups to be performed in one minute.
Push Up – This test measures
muscular endurance of the upper body (anterior deltoid, pectoralis
major and triceps). The requirement is for a number of full body repetitions
that a candidate must complete without breaks.
Cardiovascular Activity – 1.5
mile run; the requirement is for the attainment of a score calculated in
minutes and seconds.
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. Failure
on a part of qualifying test will remove your name from further consideration
for appointment. Please note:
Candidates may cancel or defer their physical fitness test a maximum of three
times. Canceling or deferring beyond three times will result in candidates name
being removed from future consideration for appointment.
Copies of the physical fitness
and medical standards are available upon request from the Ulster County
Personnel Department.
*FEES*: Send your check or money order for forty dollars
($40.00) (made payable to COUNTY OF ULSTER)
with your application. Please include
the examination number, title, and applicant’s name on your check or money
order. DO NOT SEND CASH. NO
REFUNDS WILL BE ISSUED, therefore, you are urged to compare your
qualifications carefully with the qualifications for admission and apply only
for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.
Applications may be obtained
at the
For those applications
submitted in person on the last file date, please submit no later than 4:30 PM.
All applications must be in our office no later than 5:00 PM on the last file
date. Applications postmarked by the last file date will also be accepted.
This
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 of examinations
will apply to this test.
CRIMINAL
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION POLICY: In accordance with Ulster County Local Law
Number 14 of 2007, a criminal background check (including fingerprinting) will
be initiated by the Ulster County Personnel Department upon initial employment
or re-hire to Ulster County positions, and conducted by the New York State
Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), the New York State Office of
Court Administration, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Verification Information System (IMAGE Program), or any law enforcement agency.
SPECIAL NOTE: All public agencies are required by law to
provide full and equal opportunities for minorities, women and to people with
disabilities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to compete without regard
to race, creed or national origin. Applicants requesting special testing
arrangements as a Saturday Sabbath Observer, alternate test date candidate (in accordance
with Alternate Test Date Policy), or an active member of the military away from
the area on the scheduled test date must clearly indicate this fact on the
application. All such requests must be supported by appropriate documentation.
VETERANS: Non-disabled and disabled
veterans who wish to claim additional credits must request a Veterans Credits
application from our office. This form must be completed and submitted along
with a war service (DD214) form prior to the establishment of the
resulting eligible list. Veterans credits may only be added to a passing score
and may only be used for appointment once. Candidates currently in the
armed forces may apply for and be conditionally granted veteran’s credits. Any candidate who applies for such credits
must provide proof of military status to receive the conditional credits. You
may not claim additional Veterans Credits after the eligible list has been
established. It is the candidate’s responsibility to request the Veterans
Credits application forms and submit these forms and any required supporting
paperwork before the eligible list is established.
APPLYING FOR CIVIL SERVICE
EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS WHEN
EXAMINATIONS ARE SCHEDULED ON SAME DATE: If you have applied for any other Civil
Service examinations for employment with New York State or any other local
government jurisdiction, you must make arrangements to take all the
examinations at one test site.
If you have applied for both State
and Local government examinations, you must make arrangements to take
all your examinations at the State examination center by calling (518)
457‑7022 no later than two weeks before the test date.
If you have applied for other
local government examinations, call or write to each Civil Service Agency to
make arrangements. You must make your
request for these arrangements no later than two weeks before the date
of the examinations. You must notify all
local government civil service agencies with whom you have filed an application
of the test site at which you wish to take your examination(s). For this examination call (845) 340‑
3531 OR write to Ulster County Personnel Department,
*If candidates have not
received notification of this examination within four (4) days of the
examination, they should contact this office immediately.
#65549
ORIGINAL COPY: YELLOW
ISSUED: August 29, 2012