Alternate Route Basic Course For Police Officers

The John H. Stamler Police Academy is a participating agency in the Alternate Route Basic Course for Police Officers. This program allows qualified candidates
to participate in the New Jersey Police Training Commission Basic Course for Police Officers without first being appointed to a municipal or county police agency.

The Fall 2008 Alternate Route Application Process is now CLOSED
Please visit our website in
January 2009 for more information.

DOWNLOAD the Alternate Route Brochure

There are three methods to become a police officer:

•   Take the civil service exam, given by the New Jersey Department of Personnel. As a veteran, extra points will be added to your test score. The top scorers are usually hired quickly by the police departments and agencies that require applicants to take this exam.

•   Apply directly with non-civil service departments. (You’ll have to call each one you are interested in directly, as, at this time, there is no “master list” to tell you who does what. If they hire you, they will pay for you to attend the Academy.)

•   Apply as an “Alternate Route” candidate.

The Alternate Route Program to Becoming a Police Officer

The Alternate Route Program is an opportunity for an individual to pay his or her own way through the Basic Training Course for Police Officers, without having first been hired by a police department or law enforcement agency.

Upon completion of the Basic Course for Police Officers, an Alternate Route Program graduate has three (3) years to be hired as a police officer in the state of New Jersey.

Candidate Qualifications

Candidates applying for entrance in the John H. Stamler Police Academy Alternate Route Program must meet the following qualifications:

• Must be a resident of New Jersey and a citizen of the United States.
• Must have completed a minimum of 60 college credits or two years of active military service or a combination thereof.
• Must be between the ages of 18 and 35 years.
• Must be sound in body and of good health sufficient to satisfy the Board of Trustees of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System of New Jersey as to his/her eligibility for membership in the retirement system.
• Must be able to read, write, speak and understand the English language well and intelligently.
• Must be of good moral character and have not been convicted of any criminal offense or that reflects negatively on your moral character.
• Must successfully pass all entrance examinations, tests, evaluations, investigations, and interviews. The testing process includes a written examination, background check, oral interview, psychological evaluation and medical screening. Applicants successfully passing all phases of the entry process are placed on a preference list according to their final ranking.

General Program Information

The Alternate Route program is limited to no more than 20 trainees in each selected Basic Course for Police Officers class.

The Academy has the right to deny admittance for any reason. Successful completion of all phases of testing does not guarantee any applicant admittance into the Academy.

Program Cost

The tuition for attending the Academy is $1,270.00. This fee covers tuition, ammunition, and medical
and psychological examinations. Candidates must furnish their own uniforms and any other materials necessary to complete the course. Anyone who can demonstrate an inability to pay the tuition by the first day of class will be given a period of one year from the date of hire by a law enforcement agency
to pay the tuition.

In addition, there is a $60.00 non-refundable application fee that covers administrative costs and fees for the written examinations.

Program Basics Program Basics

The basic course is conducted from 5:30 AM to 3:30 PM, Monday through Friday for approximately
20 weeks (July through December).

Trainees are required to undergo rigorous physical fitness activity and military discipline as well as extensive academic courses related to the position of police officer. Due to the Academy’s strenuous physical training program, Alternate Route applicants must be in excellent physical condition prior to entering the Academy. At the discretion of the Director, any applicant deemed to be in sub-standard physical condition can be denied admission to the Alternate Route Program, and, once accepted, in accordance with the Recruit Class Rules & Regulations, can be dismissed.

Upon Graduation

Acceptance and successful completion of the Alternate Route program does not guarantee employment in law enforcement. You will, however, receive training that will make you eligible for acceptance in any local police department in New Jersey. In Civil Service communities, you must still meet the Civil Service eligibility and preference requirements.

Upon successfully completing the program, in addition to meeting all of the requirements to become a police officer established by the State of New Jersey, you will be eligible to receive twelve (12) college credits upon registering at Union County College.

IF YOU MISS THE SPRING 2008 ALTERNATE ROUTE PROCESS,
please revisit this website in January 2009
to find out when the applications for the 2009 Class will be available.

OR, in early February, call the Academy to listen to the audio-taped message
which will also refer you to this website for additional information.

Anyone who is interested in applying for the Basic Police Training Course
as an Alternate Route candidate must take the following actions:

1. Personally pick up and sign for a registration package at the John H. Stamler Police Academy, 1776 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains, New Jersey. This package will be available commencing the beginning of March. Exact dates will be available in late January 2009.

2. By 1:00 PM on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, hand-deliver the completed registration application, which includes personal documents and sealed college transcripts, replete with your payment to cover the initial application and test fee, to the receptionist in the main office at the John H. Stamler Police Academy. Your check, in the amount of $60, should be made payable to the Union County Police Chiefs Association. This fee is non-refundable. All incomplete applications will be disqualified.

3. If your documents are complete and in order, you will be allowed to take a written examination on a Saturday in early April, from 10AM to 11:30AM, at the John H. Stamler Police Academy. A photo ID card is necessary for you to gain entrance to the Academy. You must pass the written examination to continue in the candidate selection process, scoring 70% to 100%.

BE SURE TO BRING A PEN AND PENCIL WITH YOU. Applicants must be neat in appearance, and follow the Academy Dress Code (also posted on this website.) Male applicants must wear a collared shirt and dress or casual pants. Female applicants must be similarly appropriately dressed. No jeans or sneakers will be allowed.

4. IF you pass the written examination, you may be invited for a personal interview. The number of candidates to be interviewed will depend upon the number of candidates who apply, and the number of slots available in the upcoming class. Candidates will be invited to interview based upon their written examination scores.

5. The interview process is conducted at the John H. Stamler Police Academy by a panel of law enforcement leadership, including the Police Academy Director, and representatives from the Union County Prosecutor’s Office and Union County Police Chiefs Association, as well as other appropriate Academy personnel. Each interviewer will score you based upon pre-determined criteria assessing your capability to perform the duties and obligations of a sworn law enforcement officer. At the conclusion of the interview process, the top-scoring candidates will be invited to become an Alternate Route Recruit, in rank order, until all of the Alternate Route openings for that particular class have been filled.

Following the interview process, the final candidates must pass a personal background check, and will also be asked to undergo additional physical, medical and psychological testing, which are also contingent upon acceptance into the Academy.

6. Upon acceptance, the Alternate Route candidate will be provided with details for the program, including clothing, equipment and materials requirements. The $1,270 tuition must be paid within sixty (60) days from the first day of class.

7. If an Alternate Route Candidate terminates, for ANY reason, with the Basic Recruit Police Class at the John H. Stamler Police Acdemy BEFORE the start of the Firearms Training Component, he/she will be entitled to a partial refund in the amount of two hundred dollars ($200) of the tuition cost. This represents the portion of the $1270 tuition allocated for firearms training-related expenses. NO OTHER PORTION OF THE $1270 TUITION WILL BE REFUNDED. Any recruit termination that occurs AFTER the Firearms Training Component has commenced will not be eligible for any refund.