The Summer Olympics and campaigns for the upcoming Presidential election, two events that
occur every four years, are currently underway and getting a lot of attention. It’s also time for a
less-publicized, but very important occurrence: the Rockland County Police Exam, which takes
place approximately every 4 years. Getting highly qualified residents of strong character into the
applicant pool is the first step in building an outstanding police department such as the one we
are proud to have here in the Town of Clarkstown.
All candidates for the position of Police Officer in Clarkstown are required to take a written civil
service examination, which is administered by the Rockland County Department of Personnel.
The deadline to register to take the test is August 14, 2024 and the exam itself will be
administered on September 28, 2024. The basic requirements to determine whether or not a
candidate is eligible to apply are based on education, experience, age, and residency. The
minimum standards are as follows:
Applicants for the Clarkstown Police Department will be required to reside in Clarkstown at the
time of employment. For those interested in other municipalities please check the county
personnel website for other residence requirements.
Applicants must be at least 19 years of age, but not of age 35 or older on the date of the exam.
Special exemptions apply to the age 35 restriction for military service, details of which can be
found through the Rockland County website page dedicated to the police exam.
A high school diploma or equivalency diploma is required, PLUS one of the following:
Two (2) years of paid work experience, or two (2) years of active military service or a
combination of the two; OR an Associate’s degree or equivalent college credits (minimum of
sixty (60) credits); OR completion of thirty (30) college credit hours and one (1) year of paid
work experience, active military service, or a combination of the two. Work experience while
enrolled as a full time high school student does not qualify.
The exam is designed to test applicants in a number of different areas including situational
judgment, language fluency, information sequencing, problem sensitivity, and reasoning. The
test also seeks to evaluate an applicant’s abilities in selective attention, visualization, and spatial
orientation. Candidates who pass the written exam will be ranked in numerical order according
to their test scores and invited in that same order to participate in a physical ability test,background investigation, fingerprint check, drug screening, and an oral interview including a polygraph test. Other conditions of employment include holding a valid NYS driver’s license and being authorized to possess a firearm during the course of employment.
The application itself can be found on the Rockland County Government website. A simple web
browser search of “Rockland County Police Exam 2024” will take you to the link.
A career in law enforcement is a wonderful avenue to serve your community in a meaningful
way. Great candidates become great officers, great officers perpetuate great police departments,
and great police departments are a vital part of great communities. This opportunity won’t come
around again for another 4 years, so if you, or someone you know, are interested in taking the
test, please pass this information along.
