[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of New
Providence as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-29-1973 by Ord. No. 73-7
as Ch. 20 of the 1973 Code of Ordinances]
A police department is hereby established in the Borough, under the
name of "Police Department, New Providence, New Jersey."
A.
The Police Department, hereinafter referred to as the
"Department," shall consist of the following:
[Amended 12-27-1988 by Ord. No. 88-18; 12-27-1990
by Ord. No. 90-14; 12-9-2002 by Ord.
No. 2002-14]
B.
All appointments of probationary police officers and
of patrolmen and all promotions in the Department shall be made by the Mayor
with the consent and approval of the Council.
[Amended 12-27-1990 by Ord. No. 90-14]
It shall be the duty of the Police Department to protect life and property;
preserve the public peace; prevent and detect crime; detect and arrest offenders;
enforce the laws, including the statutes of the United States and the state
and all ordinances of the Borough; regulate and control traffic; and perform
such other duties or functions as may be considered proper functions of a
police department or as may be provided by the rules and regulations or required
procedures of the Department.
The Mayor and Council may promulgate and from time to time amend and
supplement a manual of rules and regulations. The manual shall provide for
the administration and operation of the Police Department, shall prescribe
the duties and conduct of the members thereof and shall contain such other
matters as may be necessary for the proper functioning of the Department.
All members of the Department, all civilian employees and all special policemen
shall be subject to and shall faithfully abide by the manual.
[Added 12-27-1990 by Ord. No. 90-14]
The Chief of Police be and hereby is authorized and directed to maintain
a manual of police policy and procedures setting forth in writing those policies
and procedures to be adhered to in the operation of the New Providence Police
Department, and such manual shall be maintained on a current basis in accordance
with the laws as they pertain to the same.
[Amended 12-27-1990 by Ord. No. 90-14]
The Mayor, with the consent and approval of the Borough Council expressed
by a majority vote of the members thereof, shall each year, at a meeting to
be held during the month of January, appoint a Public Safety Committee. The
Committee shall consist of one or more members of the Council. The Mayor shall
appoint one of them as Cochairman of the Committee. The Mayor shall act as
Chairman of the Committee, and the Cochairman shall assist and may represent
the Mayor in all matters relating to the Committee.
[Amended 12-27-1990 by Ord. No. 90-14]
The Police Department shall be under the immediate control of the Chief
of Police, who shall be responsible to the Public Safety Committee, which
shall receive from the Chief of Police such reports relative to the activities
of the Police Department as may be necessary. Nothing contained herein shall
interfere with the control and direction of the Police Department by the Mayor
and Borough Council pursuant to their legislative authority.
[Amended 12-27-1990 by Ord. No. 90-14]
A.
The Chief of Police shall be the executive head in general
command and responsible for the conduct, efficiency and general management
of the Department. He shall be responsible for the impartial enforcement of
the laws of the federal and state governments, the ordinances of the Borough,
the rules and regulations of the Department and all special orders issued
for the control of the Department. The Chief shall issue to the Department
or any member or members thereof all orders affecting it or them and keep
copies of the same in his office. All orders to the Chief of Police shall
be issued in writing to him by the Public Safety Committee.
B.
The Chief shall have power to issue orders to the Department
consistent with the law or the regulations of the Department.
C.
The Chief of Police shall have authority to designate
hours of duty, details of service and police work for all the members of the
Department at all times of the day or night.
D.
The Chief shall be responsible for having a full record
of all arrests and all particulars relating thereto, including the time and
place of arrest, the charges made, the name of the complainant, the disposition
of each case and the name of the Municipal Judge or other officer before whom
the case was heard.
E.
The Chief shall keep a service record, separate and apart
from employment records, of each member of the Department showing, violations
of the regulations, disposition and penalties on the same, commendations or
citations for excellent police work, equipment issued to the member and all
training and education courses successfully completed.
F.
Upon request of the Municipal Judge, the Chief of Police
may assign a member of the uniformed force to perform any proper police duty
in the administration of justice for a period not exceeding 24 hours. The
period may not be extended unless approval of the Public Safety Committee
is obtained.
G.
In case of the absence or disability of the Chief, the
next ranking superior officer of the Department shall assume his duties and
responsibilities.
[Amended 12-27-1990 by Ord. No. 90-14; 11-13-1995
by Ord. No. 95-13]
Each person appointed as a member of the Police Department shall be
a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state at the time of
appointment. The applicant must be sound in body, able to read, write and
speak the English language well and intelligently, and be of good moral character.
The Mayor and Council shall not appoint to the Police Department any person
who has been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude which, in their
judgment, will be prejudicial to the morale of the Department. A patrolman,
at the time of appointment, shall not be less than 18 years of age.
[Amended 12-27-1990 by Ord. No. 90-14]
A.
All appointments to the position of patrolman shall be
consistent with state and federal law. In all cases, the Borough shall seek
to hire the most qualified person for the position. The Borough reserves the
right to hire candidates with current Police Training Commission (PTC) Certification
who have prior police experience, or to hire candidates from the Alternate
Route Program of the Police Training Commission who have, or will obtain,
Police Training Certification upon graduation from an accredited police academy,
or to offer a competitive examination for the position of patrolman. In all
cases, successful candidates will submit to a thorough background investigation,
an interview with the Chief of Police and/or other superior officers, and
an interview with the Public Safety Committee and, as a condition of employment,
will be required to pass a drug screening, a medical examination, a psychological
examination and a physical agility examination.
[Amended 11-13-1995 by Ord. No. 95-13]
B.
Upon graduation from an accredited police academy, each
patrolman, before permanent appointment, shall serve as a probationary patrolman
for a period of 12 months; provided, however, that said probationary period
may be reduced to a period of six months upon recommendation of the Chief
of Police and approval of the Mayor and Borough Council.
[Amended 11-13-1995 by Ord. No. 95-13]
C.
Only patrolmen with at least five years of service as
a duly appointed municipal, state or county police officer shall be eligible
for promotion to the office of Sergeant. Only Sergeants shall be eligible
for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant and above. The appointment to the
position of Chief of Police shall be made from personnel of the Police Department
holding the rank of Lieutenant or above and shall be an appointment of the
Mayor and Council upon the recommendation of the Public Safety Committee without
a competitive examination. All such promotions shall be made with due regard
to the length of service of the person proposed to be promoted and his merit
in the Department. Preference shall be given to the one who has served the
longest period in the Department. Such promotion shall be made on the basis
of competitive examination, service record, recommendation of the Chief of
Police, interview with the Public Safety Committee and recommendation of the
Borough Council.
The Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Council, may appoint one
or more doctors of medicine licensed to practice in the state as police physicians
for a period of one year. The term of such appointees shall end on December
31 of each year. Such police physicians shall perform such medical services
as the Mayor may require and as prescribed from time to time by the rules
and regulations of the Department. Such police physicians shall receive such
reasonable compensation for services rendered as may be determined by the
Mayor and Council. Any appointment of a police physician may be terminated
by the Mayor and Council at any time without cause or hearing.[1]
A.
The Mayor and Council shall, at the organizational meeting
or at a subsequent meeting during the month of January in each year, appoint
special policemen for a term not exceeding one year. The Mayor and Council
may revoke such appointment or appointments at any time, without cause and
without according to a hearing.
B.
A special policeman need not be a resident of the Borough
nor need he satisfy any age requirement. No person shall be appointed as a
special policeman unless he is a citizen of the United States, able to read,
write and speak the English language, physically qualified and of good moral
character and shall not have been convicted of any crime. Before any appointment
of a special policeman is made, the Chief of Police shall ascertain whether
the applicant is eligible and qualified, as provided herein, and a report
thereon shall be made to the Mayor and Council.
Special policemen shall not be members of the Department and shall not
be entitled to any rights or privileges of members of the Department. Their
powers, rights and duties shall immediately cease at the expiration of the
term for which they were appointed or upon the revocation of their appointment.
The Mayor shall have the power to call upon special policemen in cases of
emergency or for any special duties. In cases of emergency, in order to suppress
riots or tumultuous assemblies or maintain peace and good order or when, for
any reason, it is impossible to secure the services of special policemen for
special duty, the Mayor shall have the authority to appoint additional special
or temporary officers for the period of such emergency or special duty. No
special policeman shall carry a revolver or other weapon when off duty. Every
special policeman shall be fingerprinted and his fingerprints shall be filed
with the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Every special policeman shall be under the supervision and direction of the
Chief of Police. The rate of compensation to be paid for services of special
policemen shall be fixed by the Mayor and Council, from time to time, by ordinance.
Every member and employee of the Police Department shall, before entering
upon the performance of his duty, subscribe to an oath or affirmation to bear
true faith and allegiance to the government established in this state, to
support the Constitution of the United States of America and of the state
and to faithfully, impartially and justly perform and discharge the duties
of his office. The oath shall be in the form provided by statute and shall
be filed with the Borough Clerk.
A.
No member of the Police Department shall be removed from
office for political reasons or for any cause other than incapacity, misconduct,
nonresidence or disobedience of rules and regulations established for the
government and discipline of the Department. No member of the Department shall
be removed, fined or reduced from office or employment therein except for
just cause as herein provided, and then only after a written charge or charges
of the cause or causes of complaint shall have been preferred against the
member as provided in this section.
B.
Each such charge shall be signed by the person making
it and shall be filed in the office of the Chief of Police. A copy thereof
shall be served upon such member within 15 days after the filing thereof.
The charge or charges shall be publicly examined by the Mayor and Council
upon reasonable notice to the person charged. The examination shall be commenced
not less than 15 days nor more than 30 days after such copy shall have been
so served. In the event of failure of compliance with any provisions of this
section, such charge or charges shall be dismissed.
C.
It is the intent of this section to give every person
against whom a charge or charges for any cause may be preferred under this
Article a fair trial upon such charges and every reasonable opportunity to
make any defense he has or chooses to make.
The Chief of Police or the Public Safety Committee may suspend, without
notice, any member of the Police Department if the best interests of the Borough
require it. Such suspension must be followed by the filing of charges and
service of the same upon such member within five days thereafter and by the
trial of such suspended member, commenced within 30 days after the date of
suspension. Upon acquittal of the charges made, the suspended member shall
be entitled to full compensation for the period of such suspension. Trial
shall be had before the Mayor and Borough Council.
[Adopted 7-25-1983 as Ord. No. 83-12]
The Mayor and Council do hereby adopt certain rules and regulations
of personnel procedures and procedural guidance for members of the Police
Department of the Borough of New Providence as set forth in the New Providence
Police Department police manual, a copy of which is annexed hereto, incorporated
by reference and adopted in full.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: A copy of said police manual is on file in the
office of the Borough Clerk, where it is available for examination during
regular business hours.
A copy of said police manual shall be furnished to every officer of
the New Providence Police Department who is currently employed, and
a copy shall be furnished to each new employee of the Police Department of
the Borough of New Providence. Each employee receiving a copy shall furnish
a signed receipt for the same, which shall be made a part of that employee's
permanent personnel record.
The New Providence Police Department manual may be amended only upon
authorization of a duly adopted ordinance of the Borough of New Providence,
and such amendment, if any, shall be furnished to each employee in the same
manner and upon the same written receipt as above provided.
Copies of the New Providence Police Department police manual adopted
herein shall be maintained in the Clerk's office of the Borough of New
Providence and shall be available, upon appropriate request, for review by
any person desiring to do so.
