Employment Info
Bayonne Police Department offers a challenging career in the field of law enforcement. The Department provides an excellent salary, full medical benefits and is a member of the New Jersey Police and Fireman retirement system. If you are interested in diversity, challenges and opportunities the Bayonne Police Department invites you to apply to be a part of our professional organization.
Qualifications
- Applicants must be citizens of the United States.
- Where hiring preferences apply, applicants must meet the residency requirements of the appointing jurisdiction and may be required to maintain continuous residency in that jurisdiction up to and including the date of appointment.
- Applicants must be high school or vocational high school graduates, or possess an approved High School Equivalency Certificate.
- Applicants must be at least 18 years of age. Applicants for Municipal Police Officer positions cannot be over 35 years of age (one is considered over 35 on the day after his/her 35th birthday), unless they meet the exceptions in “Maximum hiring age requirement for Municipal Police Officer”. NOTE: The age 35 maximum hiring requirement applies only to Municipal Police Officer and its bilingual titles.
- Appointees will be required to possess a driver’s license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform the essential duties of the position.
- Appointees may be required to pass thorough medical and drug screening, and psychological/psychiatric examinations. Failure of any of these is cause for removal from that title area.
NOTE: Appointees will be required to successfully complete a training program mandated by the NJ Police Training Commission. This training must be completed prior to enrollment in the Police and Fire Retirement System.
Background
Applicants must have a good reputation and be of sound moral character. An applicant’s background will be carefully investigated. An applicant who has intentionally made a false statement or practiced, or attempted to practice any deception or fraud in the initial application, examination or interview will be rejected from the selection process.
Selection Process
The selection process is a competitive one consisting of an initial application, written examination, background investigation, interview and, upon conditional offer of employment, a medical and psychological examination.
Intergovernmental Transfer Program
Under certain circumstances the Bayonne Police Department may use the Intergovernmental Transfer Program to recruit new police officers. For additional information about this program click here.
Recruit Training
While at the Police Academy, the new recruit will receive extensive physical training, defensive tactics and academics instruction. The recruit will be conditioned and tested every day on their physical and mental capabilities. Physical training may include but are not limited to: warm-up exercises, running, push-ups, crunches and weight lifting. For the academic portion of the academy, the recruit must learn the laws governing the state of New Jersey, use of force, firearms training, first aid, communication skills, report writing, baton training, de-escalation techniques, and much more.
Defensive tactics are taught to show the recruit how to defend themselves with limited injury to occur. These skills being from basic kicking, punching, moving and simple exercises to help strengthen body muscle and then moving on to more complicated techniques.
The New Jersey Police Training Commission mandates that all recruits are required to perform to the following minimum physical training standards. Failure of any one of these events can result in dismissal from the Academy:
- 1.5 mile run in 15:55 or less
- 300 meter run in 70.01 seconds or less
- Vertical jump of 15 inches or more
- 24 push-ups in 1 minute or less
- 28 sit-ups in 1 minute or less
Benefits & Salary
Job security and the opportunity for advancement are just the beginning of the many benefits enjoyed by Bayonne Police Officers. The City of Bayonne offers:
- Competitive Starting Salary
- Medical Benefits
- Dental Plan
- Prescription Plan
- Life Insurance
- State Pension Plan
- Deferred Compensation
- Credit Union
How do I join?
If you meet the qualifications requirements, you can obtain and submit an application from the New Jersey Civil Service Commission (NJCSC) website. Announcements are typically announced every two years on the website under Public Safety Testing News: https://www.state.nj.us/csc/
Once your application has been submitted, the NJCSC will notify you of when and where you are to take the examination. If you pass the examination, you will be placed on a list of eligible candidates, where your ranking will be based on your test score. The NJCSC will notify you of your test score and position on the eligible candidates list. Any questions regarding the written test, results, or your placement on the list of eligible candidates should be directed to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission.
If your position on the NJCSC is reached, you will be contacted by the Bayonne Police Department Planning and Training Unit, who will then schedule your interview and initiate your background investigation. Candidates who pass all facets of the background investigation who are offered a promise of employment shall be required to complete a psychological exam and medical examination prior to appointment.
After your appointment, candidates will be required to attend a New Jersey Police Training Commission police academy for approximately twenty-two weeks.
The City of Bayonne and the Bayonne Police Department are equal opportunity employers. Women and Minority Groups are encouraged to apply.
Diversity in Law Enforcement
It is important that law enforcement agencies closely resemble the makeup of the community they serve. The Bayonne Police Department is a highly diverse police department that represents an equally diverse community. The Bayonne Police Department’s demographics are highly representative of the most recent United States Census. This is largely in part to our residency requirements for hiring police officers and are active recruitment practices.
Below is a general demographics report for the City of Bayonne and the City of Bayonne Police Department.
|
Bayonne City |
BPD |
Total Number |
70,300 |
184 |
RACE / ETHNICITY |
||
White Non-Hispanic |
51.5% |
64% |
Black or African American |
11.7% |
6% |
American Indian/Alaska Native |
0.5% |
0 |
Asian |
10.3% |
1.5% |
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander |
0.0% |
0% |
Other / Two or More Races |
17.9% |
6.5% |
Hispanic (Any Race) |
31.3% |
22% |
OTHER |
||
Females |
50.6% |
11% |
Statistics for Bayonne City are based on 2023 Census Data available at: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/bayonnecitynewjersey
Statistics for the Bayonne Police Department are based on the Annual Summary of Law Enforcement Diversity of 2023
Statistics for the Bayonne Police Department are based on the Annual Summary of Law Enforcement Diversity of 2024
The data shows that the most underrepresented groups in the Bayonne Police Department are Women and Hispanics.
While the Bayonne Police Department is currently 11.0% female, and is consistent with the state average of 10.8%, more efforts must be put in to recruit qualified candidates to increase their representation of the Department. During this recruitment cycle the Bayonne Police Department utilized at least one female officer to attend all recruiting events. In addition, four female officers were added to the Department’s Community Oriented Policing Unit in hopes of attracting other qualified women to apply to the Bayonne Police Department.
With the New Jersey Civil Service Test scheduled for Summer of 2025, we will be able to tell if these recruitment efforts had a positive impact, or if new strategies must be implemented.
Current Recruitment activities of the Bayonne Police Department include, but are not limited to:
- Providing recruitment brochures and materials at various community events
- Maintaining a resident only hiring policy to recruit new officers from the community
- Attending career fairs and various high schools and colleges
- Providing student internship programs
- Utilizing social media to maximize the efforts of our recruitment drives
- Maintaining positive police-citizen encounters
- Maintaining competitive work schedules and salaries
- Joining with local church and youth groups to assist prospective candidates with applications and answer questions
- Posting recruitment flyers and information in various storefronts within the “Shopping District” of Bayonne
- Hosting question and answer sessions at local libraries
Guided by Honor, Service & Duty
Bayonne Police Headquarters
630 Avenue C, 2nd Floor Bayonne, New Jersey 07002
Telephone Numbers
MAIN
201-858-6900
Investigations
201-858-6925
Juvenile Division
201-858-5855
Cops in Schools
201-858-5856
Animal Abuse
201-858-6900
Records
201-858-6944
Project Lifesaver
201-360-7706
ABC/Firearms
201-858-6939
Traffic Division
201-858-6969
Internal Affairs
201-858-6911