Dutchess County Sees 57% Increase in Police Officer/Deputy Sheriff Exam Applicants Following Extensive Outreach

Poughkeepsie, NY… Following extensive community outreach by the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and the Dutchess County Department of Human Resources, as well as local police agencies, to encourage a diverse applicant pool for the upcoming Police Officer/Deputy Sheriff exam, County Executive Marc Molinaro and Dutchess County Sheriff Adrian “Butch” Anderson have announced nearly 1,400 applications have been submitted to take the upcoming exam, an increase of more than 56% over 2017 when the exam was last offered.  The outreach effort was also very successful in encouraging a greater diversity of applicants, with a 105% increase in African American applicants, a 203% increase in Hispanic applicants, an 89% increase in Asian applicants and a 98% increase in female applicants.      The police exam is scheduled to be administered on Saturday, September 18^th, 2021.

County Executive Molinaro said, “We are thrilled to see the strong interest from so many interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement. It is inspiring to see how many want to serve their community in this honorable profession.  Over the last several months, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, Human Resources and many local police agencies have been working tirelessly to share information, answer questions, and encourage people to consider taking the exam.   That work has paid off with an impressive applicant pool that is reflective of our county population.”

Sheriff Anderson said, “Our deputies are proud to protect and serve our community and we are heartened by the number and diversity of people who want to join us in our mission.  Special thanks to Lt. Shawn Castano who led our Recruitment Team that worked diligently to develop positive partnership with our communities and increase our outreach efforts.   We look forward to the exam administration in September and adding more deputies who represent the community we serve each day.”

The Police Officer/Deputy Sheriff exam is part of the path to becoming a Dutchess County Deputy Sheriff or to serve on a local municipal police force.   The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO), as well as local municipal police departments, in partnership with Dutchess County Human Resources, are committed to a diverse workforce and engaged in a number of initiatives to eliminate barriers and improve recruitment efforts as part of the Dutchess County Police Reform & Modernization Plan. Outreach efforts to encourage diversity of applicants included:

• Waived exam fee for applicants, which is normally $25.
• Expanded recruitment efforts at a variety of events, including upcoming Hudson Valley Renegades baseball games at Dutchess Stadium, as well as outreach at local apartment and housing complexes.

• Extensive public outreach including social media, posters, flyers and media interviews to promote the exam.

• The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office provided free preparation courses at various locations throughout the county to help interested candidates prepare for both the written exam and the physical agilities test components to increase the number of candidates who successfully completed the recruitment process.    Dates and times are posted on the DCSO Facebook page at DCSO Facebook page.

• Restructured the 60-college credit requirement to be eligible to take the civil service exam.   Dutchess County now requires new officers to acquire 60 college credits within five years of hiring and receive Crisis Intervention Training within two years of appointment.

The extensive outreach efforts not only increased the number of applications, but expanded the diversity of the applications received, as reflected in the table below.  

                                                                                2021                      2017                 % CHANGE

Total Applications Received                                    1380                       881                         + 57%

Note:  Diversity statistics are voluntarily submitted.   Applicant may not have included gender or race/ethnicity information.   The breakdown of those who included their gender, race, ethnicity information is as follows:

Female candidates                                            218                       110                         +  98%

Male candidates                                                793                       495                         +  60%

Caucasian candidates                                       608                       447                         +  36%                  

African American candidates                           119                      58                          +105%

Hispanic candidates                                           249                      82                          +203%

Asian candidates                                                17                        9                            +  89%

Other                                                                  42                        19                           +121%

The 2021 applications also more closely reflect the County’s overall population diversity as reflected below:

                                                % County Population*      % 2021 applicants          % 2017 applicants

Gender

Female                                                50.2%                                   22%                                        18%                       

Male                                                    49.8%                                   78%                                        82%                       

Race

Caucasian                                           77.1%                                   59%                                       74%                       

African American                                11.4%                                   11%                                         9%

Asian                                                     4.5%                                      2%                                          1%

Two or more/Other                             3.8%                                      4%                                          3%

Ethnicity                              

Hispanic                                               12.9%                                   24%                                        13%      

*2019 American Community Survey 1-year estimates.

Josayne Anderson-Tejera, Dutchess County’s Equal Employment Opportunity & Inclusion Officer, was pleased to see the overall increase in applications, as well as the large interest from underrepresented groups including Hispanics and African Americans. “The large number of diverse applicants will help expand the diversity of law enforcement workforces, making them more representative of the community it serves.   I am particularly grateful to the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Criminal Justice Council committee, for their tenacious commitment to getting the word out about the exam and encouraging as many people as possible to consider a law enforcement career.  That hard work and effort is certainly reflected in this diverse applicant pool.”

The exam sign-up period, which began on July 2^nd, closed on Wednesday, August 4^th.   Submitted applications are currently being reviewed to ensure eligibility requirements have been met prior to exam administration on September 18^th. 

To learn more about Dutchess County and other civil service employment opportunities, visit www.DutchessNY.gov/jobs. To receive alerts for current recruitment and exam postings, please sign up for Dutchess Delivery Human Resources announcements