Mayor Kraham Announces Largest Police Applicant Pool in Years

Mayor Kraham Announces Largest Police Applicant Pool in Years

(BINGHAMTON, N.Y.)-Mayor Jared M. Kraham on Friday announced 121 individuals have signed up to take the civil service police exam this weekend, marking the largest applicant pool for the Binghamton Police Department in six years.

Mayor Kraham said: "Our work to rebuild and reinvest in the Binghamton Police Department is paying off. With more individuals applying to work for BPD and a shrinking number of officers leaving the job early, the Police Department is on track for full staffing for the first time in decades. This has a direct impact on our neighborhoods, allowing us to expand community policing efforts, including foot and bike patrols, and focus more resources on keeping residents safe."

The number of applicants signed up to take the police exam in Binghamton has tripled over the last six years.

Only 40 individuals took the exam in 2020. The average number of applicants from 2020 to 2024 was 63.

When Mayor Kraham took office in 2022, he began work with the Binghamton Police Benevolent Association to improve recruitment and retention within the department. The City increased officer salaries, instituted a progressive paid parental leave policy and modernized outdated policies to allow for facial hair and tattoos.

The City also expanded its police recruitment efforts and removed barriers to applications, including eliminating the civil service application fee and updating its minimum qualifications to remove a college credit requirement. This year, New York State raised the maximum age to take the civil service police exam to 42.

Binghamton Police Benevolent Association President Larry Hendrickson said: "The men and women of the Binghamton Police Department are excited that so many people have chosen to take this first step in the process towards becoming a part of our agency and serving the citizens of Binghamton. It has been a number of years since the BPD has been fully staffed and, with the high number of applicants, it looks like we will be able to achieve our full staffing in 2026. An increased number of officers means quicker response times, increased safety for officers and citizens, more proactive patrol, and the ability to undertake many additional community policing activities and partnerships with community organizations. The officers that will be hired off this civil service list represent the next generation of police officers in Binghamton. They will touch countless lives in the coming decades. These individuals will be a part of our evolution of the Binghamton Police Department, as we work with the community to improve our agency and the city."

The exam will be held Saturday, September 20.