The New York State Department of Civil Service (DCS) announced that 40 county civil service agencies – including Monroe, Orleans, and Genesee – are now offering an online civil service examination for Correction Officers to help improve recruitment for these critical public safety titles. The exam, which is being offered as an online exam for many counties for the first time, is used to fill positions in county jails. Qualified candidates can apply for the exam through May 12 through their local civil service agency (https://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/local/co-exam-list.cfm), then access and complete the online exam from June 1 to 30, 2023.
New York State also offers an online Correction Officer Trainee exam for positions located at New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) correctional facilities. For more information and to access this online exam, go to https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/dec-instrument/cot-overview.cfm.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, who also serves as President of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, said, “Most Sheriffs’ Offices in New York State are having significant difficulties in recruiting persons to serve as correction officers in our county jails. Mandated positions often require the use of overtime, which is costly to our counties, and detrimental to our officers who already have a difficult job. The New York State Sheriffs’ Association has been working closely with the New York State Department of Civil Service to help with recruitment efforts, and particularly to speed up the testing process so that we can more quickly identify qualified candidates and get them trained for corrections duties. One program is an online testing of training and experience: we have found that more people register for, and actually take, the online test compared to the usual written test given at some central location. Test results are much quicker, and people from diverse communities and backgrounds are applying for this online test, enabling Sheriffs to increase the diversity of our jail division staff.”
The online exam will require candidates to provide information about their training and experience with an online questionnaire that is completed and submitted by the candidate. Candidates should be prepared to provide information about their education and employment history to be able to respond to the questions on the questionnaire accurately.
Correction Officers complete a basic training course following appointment and can gain status as a New York State Peace Officer. The position also includes benefits including paid leave, health benefits, and retirement plans and opportunities for promotion.
According to estimates by the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, there are more than 1,000 correction officer positions to fill in counties across the state. DOCCS also has an ongoing need to fill correction officer positions across the state with over 1,000 positions immediately available.
