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Join the North Plainfield Police Department

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The North Plainfield Police Department, Somerset County’s first Accredited Agency, patrols a primarily residential area of approximately 2.8 square miles with an estimated population of 21,000 people.  We are a full service-policing agency dedicated to our motto of, “Protecting with Pride Serving with Honor.” 

North Plainfield Police Recruitment Plan 2023

GOAL:

The primary goal of the North Plainfield Police Department recruitment activities will be to attract qualified candidates for employment that will enable the department to work toward its long-range goal of employing a sworn workforce that reflects the diversity of the population of the community the agency is charged with protecting and serving, thereby making the police force more effective at promoting public safety. We will continue to strive in placing a special emphasis on recruiting underrepresented minorities and females.

OBJECTIVE:

The Chief of Police or designee is tasked with putting a plan together to coordinate and document all of the agency’s recruitment activities for the upcoming hiring process. On an annual basis, the Chief of Police or designee will conduct an annual analysis and review of the Recruitment Plan to determine if the goals and objectives are being met and if not, what adjustments will be made.

Preference is given to recent graduates of the Alternate Route Program. If that list is exhausted or no PTC applicants are qualified, we look for Class II certified officers. We give extra consideration to Spanish-speaking candidates as well as minorities and females who represent the diversity of North Plainfield.

North Plainfield Police Department Demographics

At present (2023), the North Plainfield Police Department employs 46 full-time sworn officers, 1 part-time sworn Class II Special Officer and 3 full-time sworn Class III officers for a total of 50 sworn officers. The demographics of our sworn force is: Caucasian 86%, Hispanic 20%, African American 14%. The male & female demographics are 90% male and 10% female.

2021 Demographics Report

ACTION PLAN

The Borough of North Plainfield is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all job postings shall indicate such. The following list contains items or action plans that may be taken toward the recruitment of officers throughout the State of New Jersey, although not all items will be practical or necessary for all hiring processes:

1. Distribute the job announcement to local New Jersey Police Academies.
2. Distribute the job announcement to members of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJSACOP) and Atlantic County Association of Chiefs of Police (ACACOP).
3. Distribute the job announcement through PoliceApp.com and Publicsafetyapp.com whenever practical.
4. Post the job announcement on Department’s website and Facebook page.
5. Forward the job announcement to ethnic and gender-based special interest groups and organizations, such as the NAACP, National Center for Women in Policing, The New Jersey Women in Law Enforcement, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, The National Coalition of Latino Officers, and the Committee for Multi-Cultural Understanding.
6. Forward the job announcement to the different civic, community, and business groups within the Borough of North Plainfield along with faith-based congregations identified through the Police Chaplain Program.
7. Attend local career fairs and distribute recruitment related material. An effort shall be made to select officers who reflect the identified underrepresented groups, should those officers be interested in recruitment activities.
8. Recruitment banner to be displayed publicly at recruitment opportunities and potential recruitment events, such as job fairs and National Night Out.
9. Coordinate with local military bases to arrange for recruitment activities via the Transition Assistance Program.
10. Community events such as Coffee with a Cop, National Night Out, or other similar activities.

HIRING PROCESS

TIME LINE - Distribution of notices of hiring as outlined in this plan will begin when a vacancy needs to be filled. This process may be repeated throughout the year in the event additional openings within the agency become available. As a general rule, the police department will not accept resumes unless an active hiring process has been announced and commenced. Resumes will be reviewed by Command staff personnel and will be scheduled for an interview with the panel.

INTERVIEW PANEL – Qualified applicants will be scheduled for an initial interview in front of the Interview Panel. The interview panel will typically consist of members of the Police Administration (other than the Chief of Police), although the makeup of the panel may vary based on manpower and staffing needs. The panel should remain identical for all applicant interviews. The interview panel will ask a series of pre-selected questions to each applicant and score each interview, providing the Chief of Police with a ranked list following the interviews.

CHIEF INTERVIEW - The Chief of Police and Captain will then interview the top three qualified applicants and ask a series of questions to each applicant and score each interview. Applicants that are deemed to be candidates for possible employment will be asked to complete the Formal Application for Employment.

FORMAL APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT – Those applicants that pass the oral interviews and are selected to progress to the next phase in the hiring process will then be given a Formal Application for Employment to complete in its entirety. The applicant will be given at least two weeks to complete the questionnaire and return it to the Chief of Police or designee.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION - Applicants chosen for the background process will have their information forwarded to a qualified background investigator. The investigating officer will have two to four weeks to complete the background checks and provide a detailed report of their findings. Applicants will also be required to successfully complete the North Plainfield Police Department Drug Screening process.

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS – Applicants will be required to undergo and successfully pass both psychological and physical examinations, the results of which could result in an applicant being disqualified.

FINAL DECISION ON HIRING - After the background investigations have been concluded, the Chief of Police will make a decision identifying the candidate(s) who are determined to be most suitable for employment. Applicants are hired by the Chief of Police.

CONDITIONAL OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT – Upon successful completion of a background check, the Chief of Police will extend a Conditional Offer of Employment to the applicant(s) based on the background investigation results, interview results, or other factors. The conditional offer of employment is conditional on successfully completing a psychological and physical examination.