About / contact

Bill Reilly founded Finest’s Professional Development, LLC to advance achievements in law enforcement professionals. Prior to founding Finest’s, he served in the patrol division of the Hartford (Connecticut) Police Department for 5 years followed by a 2 year assignment to the Crime Suppression Unit (aka Street Crimes Unit). His first opportunity to test for the sergeant rank came at the 7 year mark in his career. Over 200 police officers and detectives participated in the testing process which consisted of a written exam and an oral board. Bill achieved the #1 position on that promotion list; he was promoted and assigned back to the patrol division. Within six months of his promotion to sergeant, the chief of police assigned Bill to a position as a supervisor and instructor in Hartford’s Police Academy. Bill became a state certified instructor and specialized in Interpersonal Skills and Community Policing.

Bill’s first opportunity to test for lieutenant occurred at the 12 year mark in his career. He competed against 40 sergeants (written exam and oral board) and once again achieved the number one placement on the promotion list. As a lieutenant, Bill remained in the Police Academy, now serving as its commander. It was during this time that the chief assigned Bill to the concurrent assignment of Bomb Squad commander.

The next promotion testing (written exam and oral board) opportunity occurred at the 15 year mark in his career when Bill tested for captain against 18 lieutenants, again achieving the top score. As a captain, Bill first served as the commander of the Community Response Division and later as the commander of the city’s largest police service area. He was also recruited to be an instructor for the Community Policing Consortium in conjunction with the International Association of Chiefs of Police to deliver community policing training to police leaders throughout the United States.

Bill was elevated to the position of acting assistant chief and then at the 18 year mark in his career participated in an assessment center as one of 12 competitors for a full promotion to the position of assistant chief, which he achieved, once again being promoted in the number one position. As an assistant chief Bill first served as the commander of the Operations Support Bureau until later being designated by the chief of police to serve as the Hartford Police Department’s first chief of staff. It was during this time that Bill attended and graduated from the 213th session of the FBI National Academy.

Bill earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Long Island University and a Master of Science degree in Communication from Central Connecticut State University, where he later served as an adjunct professor in their Communication Department.

Finest’s was founded after Bill’s retirement and has been consistently focused on helping police officers of all ranks achieve promotions and excel in their careers. The Oral Boards Made Easy™ program was developed by Bill based on the methods he applied to achieve his promotion success – four consecutive promotions in the number one position after competitive testing – which had never occurred before or since in his police department of 400+ sworn.