Police Officers who are certified in another state or are certain Federal law enforcement officers who have worked for more than 12 months in their original jurisdiction may be eligible for reciprocal certification in New York through the Equivalency program administered by New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and conducted by Rockland County Police Academy, usually in conjunction with the biannual Basic Course for Police Officers.

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Generally, a prospective Equivalency student will obtain the curriculum that was delivered at their  original academy and the employing New York agency will submit it to New York State Division of Criminal Services for review.  After review, NYS DCJS will then communicate with the prospective Equivalency student's agency and the Rockland County Police and Public Safety Academy to outline the list of topics that the prospective Equivalency student must demonstrate proficiency in and any instructional blocks they must attend.

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While each Equivalency course is a "custom" class due to the variation in other state's academy curricula, on average the classes require in-person attendance of a few hundred hours spread over about six months.  Usually Equivalency students must complete a period of Field Training before they are fully certified.

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Employers considering Equivalencies are encouraged to contact the academy and DCJS early in the hiring process as there are a significant amount of administrative tasks which must be completed more than a month before training can begin.

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 Agency Training Officers: contact Basic School Coordinator here