Jersey City’s population of 240,000 represents numerous ethnic groups, so the Police Department wants to reflect those groups as well.
At a press conference on Feb. 4, representatives of the city’s various ethnic communities, as well as the police and Mayor Jerramiah Healy, announced a recruitment campaign to attract minorities to the department.
The recruitment campaign will consist of the police going to various community meetings to spread the word. The department has also posted information on their website.
Interested parties can start the process by filling out an application by March 31 to take the state Department of Personnel Police Entry Level Examination. They can get this application at the Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) website at www.njjcpd.org or calling the JCPD Recruitment Hotline at (201) 547-4697/4682. Also they call the office of PACO (Puertorriquenos Asociados for Community Organization) at (201) 963-8282.
No date has been announced for the exam, or where it will be held.
The city is encouraging applicants to take a course to prepare for the exam. The classes are scheduled for May 6, 15, 22, and 29 in McIntyre Hall of St. Peter’s College in Jersey City.
In order to apply for the JCPD, applicants have to be residents of Jersey City, be 18 to 35 years old, be a U.S. citizen, have a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma, and have a valid N.J. driver’s license.
Currently there are 889 police officers on the JCPD, with 21 recruits currently in training in the police academy.Egyptian officer
Attending Monday’s press conference was Rael Shahid, 35, a Jersey City police detective of Egyptian descent. He has been on the force for 11 years.
Shadid said that cultural factors sometimes dissuade minorities from joining the department.
“They want to become engineers, doctors, lawyers, and in some foreign countries, there is a perception of the police force being corrupt,” Shadid said.
When he first joined the police force, Shahid was the only officer of Middle Eastern heritage there. Now, he can cite at least seven officers with a Middle Eastern background, as well as women and Asians.
He conceded that it will take several freshman police classes before there is a noticeably diverse department. Bringing diversity to the city’s finest
Also at the press conference was 28-year police veteran Officer Frank Molina, who organized classes 12 years ago to prepare potential recruits to take the exams.
“If [other nationalities] don’t see [a recruitment effort], then they’ll think it is closed-door job,” Molina said.
Hudson County Freeholder Eliu Rivera, who runs the longtime Downtown community organization PACO (Puertorriquenos Asociados for Community Organization) said he will be leading the recruitment drive in collaboration with the police, based on his past organizing of efforts to prepare potential police officers for the exam.
Police spokesperson Lt. Edgar Martinez, a 20-year veteran, said at the press conference, “In unity there is strength, and we can make sure that our city and our department reflects the makeup of our community.” Comments on the story can be sent to rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com