City of Hoboken, NJ Article VII Special Law Enforcement Officers

[Amended 7-20-2011 by Ord. No. Z-117]

§ 59A-47 Position established; duties.

A. There is hereby established the following positions of Special Law Enforcement Officers in the Department of Public Safety, Division of Police, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.8 et seq.:

(1) Class I Special Law Enforcement Officers.

(2) Class II Special Law Enforcement Officers.

B. The Special Law Enforcement Officer Class II shall have the same power and authority of a full-time, permanent Hoboken police officer only when on duty and in full uniform actually performing his or her public safety function as designated by the Chief of Police and when receiving compensation from the City of Hoboken. A special law enforcement officer shall not be deemed to be on duty for purposes of this article while performing private security duties for private employers, which duties are not assigned by the Chief of Police.

§ 59A-48 Term of appointment; firearms; supervision.

A. Special law enforcement officers shall be appointed for an initial term not to exceed one year and can be separated from appointment at any time, without cause or hearing. Nothing herein shall be construed to require reappointment at the end of the initial term. The special law enforcement officers so appointed shall not be considered members of the police force whenever off duty, and their powers and duties shall cease at the expiration of the term for which appointed. Special law enforcement officers shall be reappointed for additional terms (each additional term shall be for a maximum of one year), and can be separated from appointment at any time during an additional term, without cause or hearing. All reappointments of special law enforcement officers who are active as special law enforcement officers for the City at the time of reappointment shall be made by the appointing authority, without the need for Council approval or consent, upon written request and recommendation of the Chief of Police.

[Amended 2-3-2016 by Ord. No. Z-395]

B. Class II Special Law Enforcement Officers shall carry, only after satisfactory completion of an approved firearms course as set forth by the Police Training Commission and when specifically authorized by the Chief of Police, a firearm issued and approved by the Police Division while on duty, in uniform and while actually engaged in their assigned public safety duties. Class II Special Law Enforcement Officers shall be issued the approved firearm at the start of their tour and shall return said firearm to the Police Desk Officer upon the completion of their tour. Class I Special Law Enforcement Officers shall have no right to carry a firearm when engaged in the actual performance of the officer's duties. No special law enforcement officer may carry a firearm except while engaged in the actual performance of the officer's official duties.

C. The special law enforcement officer shall work under the direct supervision of the Chief of Police or, in his absence, the Police Chief's designee.

§ 59A-49 Compensation; hours of duty; uniform.

A. Class I Special Law Enforcement Officers, if any, shall be compensated In accordance with the then current salary ordinance.

[Amended 5-18-2016 by Ord. No. Z-415]

B. Class II Special Law Enforcement Officers, if any, shall be compensated In accordance with the then current salary ordinance.

[Amended 5-18-2016 by Ord. No. Z-415]

C. Special law enforcement officers shall work part-time and shall not exceed 20 hours per week except during periods of emergency and will be assigned at the direction of the Chief of Police.

D. The special law enforcement officer shall wear the appropriate uniform of the day as directed by the Chief of Police, which shall include: hat, badge, name tag, Hoboken Police Division uniform patch and insignia issued by the Police Training Commission which clearly indicates the officer's status as a Class I or Class II Special Law Enforcement Officer.

E. Each special law enforcement officer accepts the following obligations as a condition of his/her acceptance of appointment to the position:

[Added 5-18-2016 by Ord. No. Z-415]

(1) If a Class II Special Law Enforcement Officer resigns or refuses reappointment after serving less than 30 days with the City of Hoboken and, within 120 days of that resignation, accepts an appointment to another county or municipal law enforcement agency, the Police Department of an educational institution pursuant to P.L. 1970, c. 211 (N.J.S.A. 18A:6-4.2 et seq.), a state law enforcement agency or the New Jersey Transit Police Department pursuant to section 2 of P.L. 1989, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 27:25-15.1), that officer shall be liable to the City of Hoboken for the total certified costs incurred by the former employer in examining, hiring, and training him or her.

(2) If a Class II Special Law Enforcement Officer resigns or refuses reappointment after serving at least 30 days but no more than two years with the City of Hoboken and, within 120 days of that resignation, accepts an appointment to another county or municipal law enforcement agency, the Police Department of an educational institution pursuant to P.L. 1970, c. 211 (N.J.S.A. 18A:6-4.2 et seq.), a state law enforcement agency or the New Jersey Transit Police Department pursuant to section 2 of P.L. 1989, c. 291 (N.J.S.A. 27:25-15.1), that officer shall be liable to the City of Hoboken for 1/2 of the total certified costs incurred by the former employer in examining, hiring, and training him or her.

(3) This Subsection E shall sunset on June 7, 2018, unless this Subsection E is revoked before said date after review of the financial impact of this Subsection E.

§ 59A-50 Qualifications.

A. Qualifications for a special law enforcement officer shall be as follows:

(1) The person meets the residency requirements as described in N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.10. Persons appointed as special law enforcement officers shall not be required to maintain residency in the City of Hoboken.

(2) The person is able to read, write and speak the English language well and has a high school diploma or its equivalent.

(3) The person is sound in body, mind and in good health.

(4) The person is of good moral character.

(5) The person has not been convicted of any offense involving dishonesty which would make him or her unfit to perform the duties of his or her office.

(6) The person has successfully completed a background investigation by the Hoboken Police Division and has successfully undergone the same physical and psychological testing as full-time, permanent Hoboken police officers.

B. All applicants for special law enforcement officer shall be fingerprinted and shall have the same filed with the Hoboken Police Division, Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

C. No person shall be appointed to serve in more than one local unit at the same time, and no full-time permanent police officer in any local unit may be appointed. However, any full-time permanent police officer who was separated from service in good standing may be appointed a special law enforcement officer, and any training for said position may be waived at the discretion of the Police Training Commission.

D. No public official with the responsibility of setting law enforcement policy or exercising authority over the budget of the Department of Public Safety shall be appointed a special law enforcement officer.

§ 59A-51 Training.

A. No person may commence his or her duties as a special law enforcement officer unless he or she has completed a training course approved by the Police Training Commission, at which time a certificate of training will be issued to the officer.

B. No special law enforcement officer shall carry or be issued any firearm unless he or she has completed the basic firearms course approved by the Police Training Commission. All special law enforcement officers shall qualify semiannually with their issued firearms.

§ 59A-52 Limitation on employment.

A. Special law enforcement officers may be employed only to assist the local law enforcement unit but may not be employed to replace or substitute for full-time regular police officers or in any way diminish the number of full-time officers.

B. The number of Class II Special Law Enforcement Officers shall not exceed 25% of the total number of regular police officers. There is no restriction on the number of Class I Special Law Enforcement Officers.