KINGSTON – The Staff Sgt. Robert H. Dietz DEP Police Academy in Kingston began the training program for 44 new recruits to the agency’s police department.
The class was selected from among 1,568 candidates who were screened
through physical training exams, medical tests, and background checks.
The class includes three military veterans, men and women who were born in eight countries and speak 10 languages.
The new recruits include 36 men and eight women; range in age from 20 to 36; and three veterans of the Navy, Army Reserve and National Guard. The recruits were born in Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Jamaica, Nigeria, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United States. The new recruits live in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Ulster, Rockland and Westchester as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties and the five boroughs of the City of New York.
The recruits will participate in seven months of rigorous training before joining the DEP Police as sworn officers to protect the largest municipal water supply in the US.