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Police Officer - Open Competitive Examination

City of Rochester | Rochester, NY

Posted Date 3/06/2024
Description This is a highly responsible position involving patrol, inspection, investigation and enforcement tasks. Incumbents have personal responsibility for the enforcement of laws and ordinances, preservation of the peace, protection of lives and property, investigation of criminal offenses and the apprehension of criminals and lawbreakers. Incumbents must exercise sound independent judgment in both emergency and routine situations. Most work is performed without direct supervision. Related work is done as required.
  • Patrols assigned area, checking for and investigating suspicious persons, vehicles, sounds, activity, property, etc., maintaining communication with the department via radio;
  • Maintains up to date knowledge of department rules, regulations, policies and procedures, of criminal activity and of laws and court decisions;
  • Conducts preliminary investigations, intelligence activities, and surveillances, analyzing incidents, recruiting informants, exchanging information with other law enforcement officials;
  • Identifies suspects, locating reliable witnesses, organizing line-ups, reviewing records and pictures;
  • Advises crime victims, juveniles and their parents, and other community members regarding crime, police, and community programs and resources, emergencies, personal safety and crime prevention;
  • Mediates civil disputes, referring parties to social agencies as appropriate;
  • Supervises traffic through traffic direction, traffic law enforcement, vehicle inspection, and investigation of accidents;
  • Plans and conducts crime scene and other searches, photographing and guarding the scene, tracking persons, determining need for assistance and collecting, documenting and preserving evidence and relevant property;
  • Apprehends and arrests persons;
  • Prepares and submits arrest and incident reports, criminal case summaries, field investigation/interrogation cards, daily log sheets, complaints, confessions, statements, reference notes, and memos;
  • Testifies in trials and at hearings and assists in the prosecution of accused persons;
  • Interviews complainants, witnesses, informants, victims, community medical personnel and interrogates suspects;
  • Administers emergency first aid, summons assistance, accompanies and transports sick/injured persons;
  • Controls groups and crowds, locating agitators, patrolling problem areas and maintaining order at public gatherings.
High school graduate or holder of a high school equivalency diploma (GED)

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
  1. Possession of a valid driver's license at the time the background investigation begins
  2. Possession of a valid NYS driver's license at the time of appointment
  3. Must be a least nineteen years of age and not have reached thirty-fifth (35th) birthday on or before date of written test, except as defined in Section 243 (10-a) of the Military Law
  4. Must be at least twenty (20) years old at the time of appointment
  5. United States citizenship at the time of appointment
  6. Must pass a medical examination that will cover areas such as, but not limited to vision, color vision, hearing and blood pressure and must pass a psychological evaluation
  7. Must meet the Rochester Police Department’s “Tattoo and Body Art Restrictions for Prospective RPD Employees” Policy (General Order 350). Effective 1/31/12.
SCOPE OF EXAMINATION: This written test is designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. SITUATIONAL JUDGMENT – 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 & 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, laws, 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 you would move to get to another location in the shortest (least distance) route.

THE USE OF CALCULATORS IS PROHIBITED FOR THIS EXAM.
Devices with typewriter keyboards, “Spell Checkers”, “Personal Digital Assistants”, “Address Books”, “Language Translators”, “Dictionaries”, or any similar devices are prohibited.

Provide Civil Service Commission IN WRITING of any CHANGES IN ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Notifying the Post Office to forward mail is NOT effective to insure that notices for examinations or appointments WILL reach you. You may obtain a change of address form or get answers to questions at the Human Resource Department located at City Hall, 30 Church Street, Room 103A, Rochester, New York, 14614, (585) 428-7115, or from our website at: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/EmploymentForms.aspx.

STUDY GUIDE: A Guide for the Written Test for the Entry-Level Law Enforcement Officer Series (for all municipalities except White Plains) is available at the New York State website: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm . Scroll down to the section ‘Test Guides for Local Government Examinations’. The study guide is: Revised (7/11/19) - Law Enforcement Officer, Entry Level (Download PDF reader) . This study guide is provided by the NYS Department of Civil Service and is the official source of information to help you prepare to take examinations in the NYS Entry-Level Law Enforcement Officer Series. If you do not have access to this website, a copy of the study guide can be obtained from the Department of Human Resource Management in Room 103A at City Hall, 30 Church Street, Rochester, NY 14614.

Answers to frequently asked questions about the entry-level law enforcement officer examination will be available at the following website: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/test_guides/police_q_a.cfm.

QUALIFYING PHYSICAL FITNESS (AGILITY) TEST: The three elements measured in the physical fitness test are muscular endurance, absolute strength and cardiovascular capacity. Note: The Municipal Police Training Council adopted the physical fitness-screening test based on the model formulated by the Cooper Institute of Aerobics Research. Failure of any one part of the test will result in a failure of the physical fitness test. The minimum passing scores, depending on age and sex, represents the fortieth (40th) percentile of physical fitness as established by the Cooper Institute. Copies of the physical fitness standards are available upon request from the City of Rochester’s Civil Service Office. After the passage of the physical fitness test, fitness must be maintained throughout the pre-employment process.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION/PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION: The background investigation will include an investigation into your background including, but not limited to education, military, employment, credit, drug use, and criminal records. Any negative report from the background investigation may be grounds for disqualification pursuant to Section 50 of the Civil Service Law. A felony conviction will result in failure of the background. Conviction of a misdemeanor or other offense will be considered in the total background investigation. Past or present illegal use of controlled substances in violation of the drug policy established by the City of Rochester Civil Service Commission will be cause for disqualification in the examination process. Other past use of illegal controlled substances may be cause for disqualification in the examination process. The psychological evaluation will consist of a combination of psychological tests and interviews. You must pass the psychological evaluation. In addition, a negative report within a non-failing psychological evaluation may be grounds for disqualification.

Note: Tattoo and Body Art Restriction Policy http://www.cityofrochester.gov/RPDtattoopolicy/

ELIGIBLE LISTS: After the written portion of the exam, the names of successful candidates will be placed on a list of eligibles in rank order of final scores. Eligible candidates of future examinations will have their names inter-filed, in order of final score. The list will be established for at least one year. The physical fitness, medical examination, background, and psychological evaluation will be administered later. Candidates who fail any of these tests will be removed from the eligible list. The Commission reserves the right to process candidates on the qualifying tests only in such numbers necessary to produce enough eligibles to meet department needs through the life of the list. This examination and resulting appointments to the Rochester Police Department are governed by the stipulated settlement (74 CIV234) ordered in the United States District Court, Western District of New York, by Judge Harold Burke on 5/12/75, as amended by Judge Michael Telesca on 5/28/92 and 1/20/04. Copies of the stipulated settlement and the amendment are available for inspection in the offices of the Civil Service Commission.

RATING: This examination will be rated in accordance with section 23.2 of the Civil Service Law. The provision of the NYS Civil Service Rules and Regulations dealing with the rating of examinations will apply to this exam. 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., the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc., and the NYS Sheriff’s Association.

MORE THAN ONE EXAM ON THE SAME DAY: If you have applied for more than one exam on the same day you MUST make arrangements to take ALL the examinations at ONE examination test site. If you have applied for both State and Local government examinations taking place on the same day, you must take all of your examinations at the STATE examination center. You are responsible to notify EACH Civil Service Agency no later than TWO (2) WEEKS before the examination date on which you are taking multiple examinations by submitting a Cross Filer form; EACH Civil Service Agency has their own Cross Filer form. The City of Rochester’s Cross Filer form is available in Room 103A at City Hall, 30 Church Street, Rochester, NY and located on the City of Rochester web site at www.cityofrochester.gov under Employment Forms. http://www.cityofrochester.gov/EmploymentForms.aspx
Employment Type
Full Time

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