Becoming a Law Enforcement Officer in New Jersey

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This is an extensive subject. We will introduce the the New Jersey process and lay out some of the different available options.  

Okay, in New Jersey there are generally two tracks to becoming a full time regular law enforcement officer:

NJ Department of Personnel Track
Chief's Agency Track0

NJ Department of Personnel Track
The New Jersey Department of Personnel, formerly known as Civil Service, administers the entry level testing for about half of the law enforcement agencies in New Jersey. Generally, test announcements along with applications come out in January and must be returned shortly thereafter. The applications are processed, and the test is usually administered in the spring. (It is strongly recommended that you enroll in a test preparation course before taking any law enforcement exam. The competition is fierce, and in some cases a fraction of a point difference in grades could mean losing the chance at a job you want) The exams are then graded and lists are returned to the agencies ranking applicants by score.

Chief's Agency Track
The agencies that don't utilize the NJ Department of Personnel have come to be known as Chief's Agencies. These departments administer the entry level testing themselves. A downside to this track is the fact that with most of the Chief's Agencies the testing is sporadic. They test when they are hiring, and you have to watch the newspapers and Internet for test announcements.

Read more about how to become a cop