The members of Class 240 were sworn in during a ceremony Thursday
TRENTON -- New Jersey's Department of Corrections welcomed 172 new officers into its ranks Thursday.
The members of Class 240 were sworn in during a ceremony in the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton.
The graduates represent 18 of the state's 21 counties. Essex County had the largest number of graduates with 24, followed by Ocean County with 18.
The other counties included Atlantic (5), Bergen (12), Burlington (6), Camden (12), Cumberland (4), Gloucester (2), Hudson (17), Hunterdon (1), Mercer (13), Middlesex (14), Monmouth (6), Morris (2), Passaic (13), Somerset (3), Union (15) and Warren (5).
Among the new officers to go through the department's 14-week training academy were seven who had served in the military, 33 with relatives in law enforcement and 60 who have college degrees.
During the ceremony, the department also celebrated the promotions of 66 officers.
Officials say nearly 3,000 trainees have graduated since Gov. Chris Christie took office in 2010.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.