How to Become a Police Officer in Pennsylvania

Allentown, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Reading, Pennsylvania

Becoming a Police Officer in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Becoming a police officer in Allentown, Pennsylvania means that you would join more than 1600 sworn police officers. In Allentown, police jobs are filled by dedicated officers who protect people and property throughout the “city without limits.”

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Becoming a Police Officer in Erie, Pennsylvania

When the Erie Police Department was founded in 1856, it consisted of three police officers and a Chief of Police. Today, Erie police jobs include 173 active duty police officers. Becoming a police officer in Erie means that you are joining a modern, technologically savvy police department with room for advancement.

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Becoming a Police Officer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Police Department is the fourth largest police department in the United States and supports jobs for 6600 sworn officers and 800 civilian employees. Becoming a police officer in Philadelphia means that you will serve a 140 square mile area housing 1.5 million people. There are 22 police districts within the Department, and 55 different locations in which to work in Philadelphia.

This manual provides information on how to become a cop in Philly by meeting the department’s police officer requirements:

Verify you meet the basic conditions
Pass a written examination and reading examination
Pass a physical fitness test, drug screening, and interview
Pass a background investigation, medical and psychological exams, and polygraph test
Attend the Philadelphia Police Academy

Step 1. Meet the Basic Conditions for Philadelphia Police Officer Candidacy

Before applying to become a police officer in Philadelphia, you must meet some basic conditions:

Be at least 21 years old
Have a high school diploma/GED
Have one of the following:
- 60 college credits (GPA must be at least 2.0)
- One full year’s worth of experience in law enforcement
- Completed the program for Philadelphia Police Explorer Cadets
Three years of driving experience
Become a resident of Philadelphia no later than one year after becoming a police officer in Philadelphia
Preference is given to veterans
Preference is given to those fluent in another language or American Sign Language

Do you meet these basic conditions? Apply to become a Philly Police Officer Recruit online before the closing date of the job posting. You will also be asked to submit or upload a copy of your college transcript, copy of state or federal Law Enforcement Officer Certification, or copy of DD-214 military discharge papers.

Step 2. Pass a Written Examination and Reading Examination

If you provide an email address when you apply to become a police officer in Philadelphia, you will receive notification via email of the date and time of the next Civil Service examination. This basic competency written exam lasts two and a half hours and consists of 100 multiple-choice questions. You must also pass the Nelson-Denny Reading Test, which lasts about a half hour and measures your reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Step 3. Pass a Physical Fitness Test, Drug Screening, and Personal Data Questionnaire Interview

Passing the exams in Step 2 places you on an eligibility list, from which you may be called to participate in the police officer hiring process. Next, you must pass a Physical Fitness and Agility Test. You must meet standards adjusted for sex and age in the following exercises:

1.5 mile run
Sit-ups
Bench press
300 meter run

You must complete a Personal Data Questionnaire (PDQ), an extensive questionnaire about your history and background. You may complete the PDQ at home then submit it in person to the Internal Investigations Unit office on Hunting Park Avenue. A background investigator will interview you on its contents prior to beginning the background investigation in the next step.

Step 4. Pass a Background Investigation, Medical Exam, Psychological Exam and Polygraph Test

The Recruit Background Investigations Unit of the Philadelphia Police Department will conduct a thorough background check on you. They will contact people whom you have known, including family, neighbors, friends, employers, teachers, co-workers and other associates. It must be discovered that you possess high moral and ethical standards before you can proceed in the next phase of the hiring process to become a police officer in Philadelphia.

If you pass the background check, you will move on to a thorough medical evaluation. Your medical history will be taken and an EKG performed. Your corrected vision must be 20/20 in each eye. You will undergo color blindness tests and breathing tests. At this time, you will also be subjected to a drug screening test. If hired, you can expect to experience random drug screening tests during your career as a police officer in Philadelphia.

If you pass the medical evaluation, you will proceed to the psychological evaluation. You must take the MMPI-2 personality test, administered via computer. Then, a State of Pennsylvania licensed psychologist will interview you for one hour.

Finally, you will undergo a polygraph test. The test is administered by an outside agency and lasts approximately two hours. Passing this test will earn you a spot on an eligibility list, from which candidates will be selected to participate in training and to become a police officer in Philadelphia.

Step 5. Attend Philadelphia Police Officer Training

Congratulations! If you have made it this far, you have passed all of the necessary tests and evaluations and were called from the eligibility list to participate in training! You will spend the next 32 weeks at the Philadelphia Police Academy learning basic law enforcement strategies, duties and tasks. Upon graduation, you will be placed into the Patrol Division of the Philadelphia Police Department. For the first year and a half, you will work under probation. After that time, you may switch to another division within the department if a vacancy arises.

The average salary for a Philadelphia police officer is $76,260 per year.*

Becoming a Police Officer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Police Department was established in 1857, with one chief and nine constables. Today the Pittsburgh Police Department supports jobs for about 900 sworn police officers. Pittsburgh has been named one of the safest cities in the United States, thanks in large part to the men and women on the city’s police force. Becoming a police officer in Pittsburgh means that you will help to continue this tradition of public safety and crime prevention.

Below you will find instructions on how to become a cop by meeting police officer requirements in Pittsburgh:

Confirm that you meet the general requirements
Pass written and oral examinations
Pass a background investigation, polygraph, physical fitness and reading tests
Pass psychological and medical evaluations
Attend the Pittsburgh Police Academy

Step 1. Meet the General Requirements for Pittsburgh Police Officer Candidacy

You must meet the following general requirements before applying to become a police officer in Pittsburgh:

You are at least 18 years old
You are a U.S. citizen
You are a resident of Pittsburgh
You have a current and valid Pennsylvania Class C driver’s license
You have a high school diploma/GED
You have completed at least 30 semester credits of college coursework at an accredited university or college (by the time you enter the Police Academy, you must have completed at least 60 semester credits)

Do you meet these general requirements? If so, you may apply online to become a police officer in Pittsburgh.

Step 2. Pass a Written Examination and Oral Examination

When the recruitment period for the Pittsburgh police officer job opening has closed, applications will be reviewed by Personnel Analysts. If you meet the minimum requirements for the job, you will be contacted and scheduled to take the Civil Service examinations. First is the written exam, the Law Enforcement Aptitude Battery (LEAB). This multiple-choice test has three parts: one tests your cognitive abilities, and the other two test your work styles and life experience.

Secondly, you must pass the Civil Service oral exam. This is taken before an oral board panel, and addresses your verbal abilities. You will be presented with sample situations and must explain how you would handle them and why.

If you pass the Civil Service exams, your name will be placed on an eligibility list. You may be called from this list to participate in the hiring process to become a police officer in Pittsburgh. You will be ranked on this list according to your total Civil Service exam score. Your name will remain on this list for 18 months.

Step 3. Pass a Background Investigation, Polygraph Test, Physical Fitness Test and Reading Test

If you are called from the eligibility list, a background investigation will commence. This will include a polygraph test. All areas of your life history – criminal, civil, personal, employment, education, residential, credit, military and behavioral – will be thoroughly explored by a background investigator of the Pittsburgh Police Department. You must pass this investigation and polygraph test before the hiring process will continue.

Next is the State of Pennsylvania Municipal Officers’ Education and Training Commission Physical Fitness and Reading Testing. The reading test is the Nelson-Denny vocabulary and comprehension exam, which requires that you read at a minimum of a ninth grade level in order to pass. For physical fitness testing, you must score in at least the 30^th percentile for your gender and age on the following:

300 meter run
Bench press ratio
One minute sit ups
1 ½ mile run

Passing these tests will earn you a conditional offer of employment to become a police officer in Pittsburgh. The offer is contingent upon you passing the tests listed in the next step.

Step 4. Pass Psychological and Medical Evaluations

You have reached this step if you have a conditional offer of employment. You must now pass psychological and medical testing.

In the Psychological Suitability Evaluation, you must take a written assessment and meet with a licensed psychologist for an interview.

For the Medical Examination, your health and fitness will be evaluated to make sure you can physically handle the demands of becoming a police officer in Pittsburgh. You may take a treadmill test, vision test, blood test, and hearing test.

If you pass both of these evaluations, you will receive a final offer of appointment as a police officer in Pittsburgh.

Step 5. Attend Pittsburgh Police Officer Training

Congratulations! You have received an offer to become a police officer in Pittsburgh! You must now complete training at the Pittsburgh Police Academy. This training lasts for 32 weeks and includes both hands-on practice and classroom coursework.

The average salary for police officers in Pittsburgh is $67,450.*

Becoming a Police Officer in Reading, Pennsylvania

Police officer jobs may be available within the many divisions of the City of Reading Police Department, including Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Bomb Squad, VICE and K-9 Unit. Becoming a police officer in Reading means that you will be in charge of serving and protecting the city’s 80,000 residents. It is a challenging yet rewarding career choice.

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