SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is seeking applicants for the position of Conservation Police Officer Trainee. The department plans to hire 15 new Illinois Conservation Police recruits to begin the academy in June.
Applicant testing is scheduled for Feb. 6-9 through the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) Examining and Counseling Division. Interested applicants should submit a CMS100 employment application to CMS, which can be found online at www.work.illinois.gov. Applicants should also review the hiring information contained on the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, “Law Enforcement” website at www.dnr.illinois.gov , click on “law enforcement” and then “career opportunities”.
Conservation Police Officer Trainee is a state employment position title for which CMS does not test on a regular basis, so those interested are encouraged to apply and participate in the testing scheduled in February. Reporting instructions to the exam will be provided by the Examining and Counseling Division or can be found on the Illinois Conservation Police website.
Applicants must possess either an associate’s degree (in any field of study) and three years of full-time law enforcement experience with the same agency (or three years as an active duty, fully sworn military police officer), or possess a bachelor’s degree (in any field of study). Either degree must be obtained within 90 days of the written examination. It is important to note that experience and or active duty military experience cannot be substituted for undergraduate education.
Applicants must also successfully complete each of the following steps in the hiring process:
➢ Written examination
➢ P.O.W.E.R test
➢ Swim test
➢ Oral interview
➢ Psychological evaluation
➢ Medical screening
➢ Background investigation
A complete description of the hiring process can be viewed on the Illinois Conservation Police website.
Conservation Police Officers have full police authority, with an enforcement mission focused on natural resources protection and outdoor recreation safety. Duties include enforcement of criminal and vehicle laws in state parks; patrolling Illinois lakes and rivers, and enforcing boat safety laws and regulations; enforcing state and federal fish and wildlife laws and regulations; enforcing the Timber Buyers Act, protection of forests and endangered species, and snowmobile registration and operation laws; enforcing laws and regulations regarding commercial establishments including taxidermists, fur buyers and fish markets; and enforcing IDNR administrative rules and regulations.
For more information on the IDNR Office of Law Enforcement and the Conservation Police Officer hiring process, please visit www.dnr.illinois.gov, or contact Lt. Eric Bumgarner, IDNR Office of Law Enforcement, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271, phone 217/785-8407, e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
This is good news…Id like too see 3-4 cpos for EVERY county!!!!
Posted by WhitetailFreak on January 12
Well this blows…this is what I’m going to school for and this is my last semester!
Posted by Taterbug on January 12
Sounds like great news to me all around. You will be ok tater, maybe call someone at the contact above and let them know your on the way out.
Posted by carrollcountyhunter2024600 on January 12
I’d like to slip one of the newbies a $20 to park on my road every now and then.
Posted by Treehugger on January 12
What their salary going to be IOUs? Perhaps they’ll be paid in road salt since the state has barely had to use their stockpiles.
Posted by mountain man on January 12
They had this same press release in 2009 and did not hire any then.
Posted by Chupacabra Crappie on January 12
If they are like “some” other state positions they are required to keep a certain # of people on the hire list.
So they have to test whether they are hiring or not.
Posted by silbowhunter on January 12
Sorry but I disagree with the college thing. cop classes are easy. It’s all common sense. I took a semester w/o books. crime scene and all. plus half the fish cops u talk to dont know anything more than the caliber of their handgun. sure there are a couple good ones, just not many.
Posted by DaBronzeBomber on January 13
I hear you Taterbug, I went to school for the same thing and did my internship with the DNR. Now here I sit in CA waiting to go on a one year deployment to Afghanistan. State only hires every 3-7 years it seems, and the one time it does, I’ll be overseas. I highly recommend doing an internship with them if you can It was an awesome time, and regardless what the last post says, these guys are good to go. Believe me, until I walked a few months in their shoes I was just as skeptical. Keep plugging away at the books and maybe you and I can catch the next one, after all the state is down by at least 30-40 CPO’s.
Posted by Colt on January 13
Keep the faith Colt- same thing happened to a bud of mine (Iraq deployment). His was even worse though, he had already gotten the call that he had been hired by the DNR, just days after his activation. Worked out the best for him though in the long run. State Police hired him as soon as he got back. He now works 4 days a week (4-10 shifts), gets to hunt and fish the other 3, makes lots more money, got assigned back to his home area and has already been promoted to Special Agent. If it had not been for the deployment, he would be with the DNR, still assigned to the Chicago area, working most weekends with little hunting opportunity, almost no promotional chance and making less money. Stay safe
Posted by The Colonel on January 13
Colt, Keep in touch with us H.Oers…Pm your address when ya get there and ill keep ya in hunting videos,mags and snacks…..
Posted by WhitetailFreak on January 13
Colt, thanks for the positive input…I know what you mean it’s alot harder than it looks….if it was that easy then everybody would do it!! But you don’t worry about that…you just take care of yourself now until you return home safely!! You should be able to land a good job when you get back…they like them military guys!! Good Luck with everything and I’ll be sure to keep you and your family in my prayers buddy!! God Bless….
Posted by Taterbug on January 13
Taterbug, they DO have CPO’s in other states, too. I know of two young men who went through school and couldn’t get on in Illinois. They got on with Iowa and Wisconsin and are probably better off.
Colt, keep your head down and powder dry.
Posted by riverrat47 on January 13