Police Officer - Open Competitive Exam

Salary: $61,879.00 - $130,932.00 Annually
Location : Rochester, NY
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number: 26ECRT60067810
Department: Rochester Police Department
Opening Date: 05/15/2026
Closing Date: 9/18/2026 11:59 PM Eastern
Civil Service Exam Date: 10/17/2026


General 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.

Typical Work Activities

• 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.

Minimum Qualifications
High School graduate or holder of a high school equivalency diploma (GED)

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS :

• Possession of a valid driver's license at the time the background investigation begins
• Possession of a valid NYS driver's license at the time of appointment
• Candidates must be at least 19 years of age on or before the examination date to be admitted to the written test. ** Eligibility for appointment as a police officer begins at the age of 20. **
• Candidates who reach their 43rd birthday on or before the date of the written examination are not qualified except as follows:
  1. Candidates may have a period of military duty or terminal leave up to seven years, as defined in Section 243 (10-a) of the Military Law, deducted from their age for the purpose of meeting the age requirement.
• United States Citizenship is required at the time of appointment. It is not necessary for admission to the examination.
• 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
• Must meet the Rochester Police Department's "Tattoo and Body Art Restrictions for Prospective RPD Employees" Policy (General Order 350). Effective 1/31/12.

Exam Information
Scopes / Subjects of examination: A test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills, and /or abilities in the following areas.

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.
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.
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.
Problem Sensitivity and 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, or laws, which will be 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.
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 numbers that matches exactly.
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.
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 in which you would move to get to another location by the shortest (least distance) route.
Test guide: A Guide for the Written Test for Entry-Level Law Enforcement is available at the New York State website: Candidates not having access to a computer or the internet may request a copy of the test guide from the municipal civil service office conducting this examination using the contact information found elsewhere on this announcement.
GENERAL INFORMATION:

Applications: Applications may be obtained from room 103A City Hall, 30 Church St., Rochester, NY 14614-1280, or from our website A separate application must be completed for each separately numbered examination. Applications must be received by the close of business or postmarked by the Application Deadline date. Late applications will be rejected. Applications must be complete and accurate.

Multiple Examinations Scheduled for the Same Day (Cross Filer): If you have applied to take a written examination announced by either one or several jurisdictions (county, town, city, or State) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this written test, you must notify each of the jurisdictions no later than two (2) weeks before the test date by filling out the Cross Filer Form and submitting it to each jurisdiction. The City of Rochester's Cross Filer form can be found at this link: All examinations for positions in State government will be held at a State examination center.


Alternate Testing Arrangements : If alternate examination date or special arrangements for testing are required, please contact the Civil Service at View phone number on click.appcast.io or email View email address on click.appcast.io. City of Rochester and Rochester Housing Authority employees are required to take the examination before returning to work, this includes teleworking.

Change of Address: You are required to notify Civil Service of any address changes at View email address on click.appcast.io. Failure to do so may result in your removal from an eligible list.


Admission to the Exam: If you have not received an Admission Letter or a notice of rejection by the Wednesday before the exam date, contact Civil Service either at View phone number on click.appcast.io or email View email address on click.appcast.io.

Residency Requirements: There is no residency requirement for participation in examinations. Preference in hiring may be given to City of Rochester residents on open-competitive lists pursuant to Section 23 of the Civil Service Law.

Military Candidates: Any candidate on active military duty in the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard may be eligible for alternative testing dates if necessary. This applies to the State Militia and National Guard if under Federal Control. If alternate testing is necessary, candidates are required to notify Rochester Civil Service in writing, as quickly as possible. Any such requests must be accompanied by a DD214 or other official military document that substantiates the applicant's active military service at the time of the examination.


Alternative testing accommodations will not be honored if requests are made more than 60 days after release from service.

Veterans Credits: Effective 1/1/98, the State Constitution was amended to permit candidates currently in the armed forces to apply for and be conditionally granted veteran's credit in examinations. Any candidate who applies for such credit must provide proof of military status to receive the conditional credit. No credit may be granted after the establishment of the list. It is the responsibility of the candidate to provide appropriate documentary proof indicating that the service was in time of war, as defined in Section 85 of Civil Service Law, and that the candidate received an honorable discharge or was released under honorable conditions in order to be certified at a score including veteran's credits.

To apply for your Veterans' or Disabled Veterans' Credits you must submit an application which can be found at City Hall, 30 Church St., Rm. 103A or on-line at Your Veterans' Credits application can be submitted with your exam application, but MUST be submitted PRIOR to the establishment of the eligible list. Veterans' Credits CANNOT be added to your score after the eligible list has been established. Veterans' Credits can only be added to a passing score. You may waive using your Veterans' Credits any time prior to appointment. You many use your Veterans' Credits for hire only once in your lifetime.

Additional Exam Credits: In conformance with section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served. If you are qualified to participate in this examination and are a child of a firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty in this municipality, please inform this office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the application deadline to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has been established.

Seniority Points: Seniority points shall be awarded based on the date of first permanent appointment in the classified service since last entry into the classified service of the employer for whom a promotional examination is administered (i.e. the City of Rochester or Rochester Housing Authority, as the case may be). Points will be added to the score of every passing candidate as follows:
at least 2 years but less than 7 = 1 point

at least 7 years but less than 11 = 2 points

at least 11 years but less than 16 = 3 points

16 years or more = 4 points

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists contain the names of applicants who have received a passing score of 70 or above on the examination. Lists will be established in rank order, with the highest score being #1. In the case of tied scores, all persons at that score are considered equal. Candidates must be one of the top three candidates to be reachable for appointment. Promotional eligible lists are limited to present employees of the City and take precedence over open-competitive lists. All eligible lists are established for at least one year and may be extended for up to four years.
Preferred List Applicants: Any employee whose name appears on a preferred list, and who submits an application by the deadline, may participate in a promotion examination, if qualified at time of layoff.
The City of Rochester offers:

• Excellent benefits package
• Liberal holidays & paid time off
• NYS Retirement System
• Steady earnings potential
• Growth Opportunities
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee development and recognition
• City Home Purchase Assistance

01


Which statement below best describes the highest level of education you have completed?

• I do not have a High School Diploma
• High School Graduate
• Associate Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree
• Professional Degree
• Doctorate Degree

Required Question