Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia were joined by other Buffalo Police Officers and applicants on Tuesday encouraging individuals who are interested in a career in law enforcement to take the 2023 Buffalo Police Entry Exam.
"We opened the exam application process about a week ago, it is going very well," said Mayor Brown on Tuesday while at C District Police Station on E. Ferry Street. "We have already exceeded the recruitment for some other cities in the State of New York in just a week's period of time. So I want to thank all of the candidates who have signed up to take the Buffalo Police Officer Entry Exam."
In the opening week of applications for the Buffalo Police Entry Exam, Mayor Brown says they already have more than 400 applicants who have signed up to take the upcoming exam.
From now until Monday, May 22, 2023, the city is accepting applications for the June 17 police exam — the first in four years. Mayor Brown says there is still ample time for people to sign up to take the exam and help serve in the Buffalo community.
"This is a rewarding profession. This department is deeply rooted in community policing, community involvement, community engagement, and that's the way that we are driving our crime numbers down, our violent crime is through our engagement with the community," said Police Commissioner Gramaglia. "If you've got something to offer, if you haven't even thought about it, we can offer something to you. We are looking forward to anyone in our community to come forward, take the test, join the ranks of the police department. It's an honorable profession, it's a noble profession, and we are looking for that next generation police officer."
This open application process for the Buffalo Police Entry Exam is the first of its kind since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Mayor Brown, there would be more than 2,000 people sign up to take the exam prior to the pandemic.
This year, the city is reaching out to interested candidates in communities across the region and state, with a focus on those from communities of colors.
"It's important for us to recruit a police department that looks like the City of Buffalo," Mayor Brown said. "There is a push to recruit women, to recruit minorities, to recruit new Americans. As the Commissioner said, with social media, we will also be targeting women, minorities, new Americans to make sure that our recruitment efforts are very extensive, and go deeply into communities across the City of Buffalo and beyond."
To qualify, applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Must be between the ages of 19 and 34 on exam date
- Any New York State resident can apply to take the exam, however, all candidates who pass the exam must be a City of Buffalo resident 90 days prior to being canvassed for appointment
- High School Diploma, GED or Equivalency Diploma
For more information about the application process, go to www.buffalony.org. or go to Room 1001 City Hall or call (716)-851-9614.
The Buffalo Police Department offers excellent benefits to becoming an officer. Salaries range from $49,588.00-to-$82,646. Benefit packages include health, dental and optical coverage, vacation/sick pay, retirement plan and a continued education stipend.
