BUFFALO – Mayor Byron Brown and Buffalo Police Department Commissioner Daniel Derenda today announced that – to date – 2,456 City of Buffalo residents recently applied to join the Buffalo Police Department. The last exam was administered by the City in 2011 and attracted 2,370 city residents. 51% of those who applied this year are minority applicants. The latest numbers were driven, in part, by a recruitment campaign by the City of Buffalo over the past two months designed to attract high-quality, diverse candidates who reflect the makeup of the city.

“Public safety remains a top priority and as we continue to grow Buffalo into a city of opportunity, I thank the city residents who answered our call to serve and protect their fellow residents, businesses and visitors to the City of Buffalo,” said Mayor Brown. “To continue strengthening the relationship between our police officers and communities all across Buffalo, we must keep building a police force that represents the diversity of our entire city. That is what this recruitment campaign successfully aimed to do and we will continue to find more ways to build relationships and make our neighborhoods even safer and our city even stronger.”

In the latest pool of applicants, nearly 33 % are African-American, over 12% are Hispanic, and over 5% are classified as other- helping BPD reach its goal of increasing diversity among its ranks. 29% of applicants are women.

“The City of Buffalo is proud to have one of the finest police departments in the state and a department that places community policing as a top priority,” said BPD Commissioner Daniel Derenda. “Buffalo police officers play an extremely important role in ensuring our residents enjoy a good quality of life, while upholding and enforcing the laws that protect residents and visitors alike. With a police force that further reflects the demographics of the city, we’ll be better positioned to successfully practice community policing.”

For the past two months, the Department used a variety of tools to recruit potential police officers, including visits to churches, schools and community events across the city. The Department also developed campaign materials in English and Spanish, promoted the recruitment campaign on radio stations, in weekly publications, through social media and aired public service announcements on Government Channel 22.

With the application process now complete, the exam will be given on June 18, 2016. To help applicants prepare for the written exam, the City provided all applicants with a test preparation guide in person or on-line that includes information about the exam and sample questions. In addition, a test preparation class for applicants, in advance of the police exam, will be held.

The Buffalo Police Department offers excellent benefits to becoming an officer. Salaries range from $50,373 to $66,031. Benefit packages include health, dental and optical coverage, vacation/sick pay, retirement plan and a continued education stipend.