NYC Environmental Police Officer requirements

By the date of appointment you must hold a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent, plus one of three things: 24 college semester credits at an accredited college or university with at least a 2.0 cumulative index or its equivalent; two years of honorable full-time United States military service; or one year of law enforcement experience.

The third route is the one candidates most often overlook. A year in a law-enforcement role qualifies on exactly the same footing as 24 credits, which puts this title within reach of someone already working as a peace officer, a correction officer or a police officer elsewhere without any college at all.

The credit route carries a quality condition the others do not: the credits must come with at least a 2.0 cumulative index, and the college must be accredited by an agency recognised by both the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Education obtained outside the United States must be evaluated at your own expense, and the notice says you will receive instructions on approved evaluation services from the Department of Environmental Protection during pre-employment screening — a different process from the other DCAS titles, which point you at a published guide instead.

Three separate ages appear in this notice and they do different jobs. You must be at least 16 by the date you take the multiple-choice examination in order to sit it at all. You must have attained age 20 to be appointed. And only persons who are less than 35 years of age on the first date of the application period may be appointed — so, as the notice puts it, you must not have reached your 35th birthday by the date you apply.

The notice also warns about the far end of the list: if you are too young for appointment when the eligible list is terminated, you have no further opportunity for appointment from it. A very young candidate who is not reached early can age into eligibility after the list has already expired.

The one exception is military. Where you were engaged in military duty as defined in Section 243 of the New York Military Law, you may deduct the length of that duty from your actual age, to a maximum deduction of seven years. That makes the practical ceiling 42 for a candidate with seven qualifying years, and it is the single most valuable veterans' provision on any notice covered here.

Proof of good character and a satisfactory background are absolute prerequisites to appointment. The notice lists factors which may be cause for disqualification: an arrest record or conviction for an offence whose nature indicates lack of good moral character or a disposition towards violence or disorder; repeated arrests or convictions indicating disrespect for the law; discharge from employment indicating poor behaviour or an inability to adjust to discipline; dishonourable discharge from the Armed Forces; and conviction of petit larceny, which this notice names specifically where others do not.

Those are factors. The next sentence is not. In accordance with provisions of law, persons convicted of a felony or a domestic violence misdemeanour are not eligible for appointment to the title of Environmental Police Officer. There is no weighing, no discretion described and no rehabilitation pathway set out in the notice for either.

The distinction is worth being precise about because it changes what a candidate should do. Against a listed factor, the sensible course is full disclosure and an honest account. Against a stated bar, the notice is telling you the answer in advance, and spending $68 to be told it again after the test is money that buys nothing.

Physical standards are established for the title. You will be required to pass a qualifying physical test and may be required to undergo periodic physical testing throughout your career — an ongoing condition rather than a hurdle at entry. Medical and psychological guidelines are likewise established, examined against at appointment and potentially re-tested periodically, with reasonable accommodation provided where appropriate.

The drug provisions are the strictest on any notice covered here, and they are worth quoting in their shape rather than in summary. You must pass a screening before appointment. You are tested during Police Academy training. You are tested again at the medical examination at the end of probation. You may be tested at random at any time during employment, or as a prerequisite for assignment to a higher level. Anyone found in possession of or using illegal drugs — or who fails, refuses, or attempts to evade a test — will be terminated.

The notice then says something unusual: that individuals considering applying are expected to conform their behaviour to this zero-tolerance policy well before they begin the application process. That is an instruction about the period before you file, not after.

A motor vehicle driver licence valid in New York State is required by the time of appointment and must be maintained for the duration of employment. On most titles here that condition is limited to certain agencies; on this one it is unqualified, which follows from a job whose patrol area is measured in counties.

United States citizenship is required at the time of appointment. You must be able to understand and be understood in English, and under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 you must be able to prove your identity and right to work.

Residency is wider here than anywhere else on this site: by appointment you must live in New York City or in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Dutchess, Greene, Sullivan, Putnam, Delaware, Ulster, Rockland, Orange or Schoharie counties. Note that the qualification check happens after the test — a candidate found Not Qualified afterwards forfeits the fee and receives no score or admission notice.