[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Rockaway as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-11-1988 by Ord. No. 14-88]
The position of Police Chaplain is created in
the Borough of Rockaway's Police Department.
Said Police Chaplain shall be appointed by the
Mayor with consent of Council upon written recommendation of the Police
Chief.
This appointment shall be without salary, rank
or employment benefits.
The term of appointment shall be undefined and
shall be terminated upon written recommendation of the Police Chief.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Sec. V, which immediately
followed this section and stated that this legislation amended and
superseded Ord. No. 13-85, was repealed 11-14-1991 by Ord. No. 22-91.
[Adopted 2-14-1991 by Ord. No. 5-91
(Ch. 21 of the 1971 Code of Ordinances)]
[Amended 6-8-2017 by Ord.
No. 08-17; 2-22-2018 by Ord. No. 03-18]
A.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118, there is hereby created in and for
the Borough of Rockaway a Police Department. The Police Department
Table of Organization may consist of not more than 15 officers in
total in the following positions at the sole discretion of the Mayor
and Council:
B.
The roles of Detective and Juvenile Detective/School Resource Officer
will be assigned from within the organizational position of Sergeant
and/or patrolman.
The members of the Public Safety Committee shall
be designated as the appropriate authority as provided in N.J.S.A.
40A:14-118. They shall be responsible for the overall performance
of the Police Department and shall adopt and promulgate rules and
regulations for the government of the Police Department and for the
discipline of its members.
A.
No person
shall be appointed to the Police Department who is not qualified as
provided in the New Jersey Statutes. The Public Safety Committee may
also require that an applicant for appointment to the Police Department
successfully complete a physical, mental and psychological examination.
The Police Department shall:
A.
Preserve the public peace and protect life and property.
B.
Detect, arrest and prosecute offenders of the law
of New Jersey and the ordinances of the Borough of Rockaway.
C.
Direct and control traffic.
D.
Provide attendance and protection during emergencies.
E.
Provide appearances.
F.
Cooperate with all other law enforcement agencies.
G.
Provide training for the efficiency of its members
and officers.
The Chief of Police shall be the head of the
Police Department and shall be directly responsible to the Mayor and
Council for its efficiency and day-to-day operations. Pursuant to
policies established by the Mayor and Council, the Chief of Police
shall:
A.
Administer and enforce the rules and regulations of
the Police Department and any special emergency directive for the
disposition and discipline of the Department and its members and officers.
B.
Have, exercise and discharge the functions, powers
and duties of the Police Department.
C.
Prescribe the duties and assignments of all members
and officers.
D.
Delegate such authority as may be deemed necessary
for the efficient operation of the Police Department to be exercised
under the Chief's direction and control.
E.
Report at least once monthly to the Council, in such
form as shall be prescribed, on the operation of the Police Department
during the preceding month and make such other reports as may be requested
by the Council.
No member or officer of the Police Department
shall be suspended, removed, fined or reduced in rank for any cause
other than incapacity, misconduct or disobedience as provided in the
New Jersey Statutes and the Police Department's rules and regulations.
The Mayor and Council may appoint from time
to time special law enforcement officers in accordance with N.J.S.A.
40A:14-146.10 et seq. for terms not exceeding one year. They shall
possess and exercise all powers and duties provided by said statutes
during their terms in office, but shall not be continued as regular
members of the Police Department and shall not be entitled to tenure.
The Chief of Police may authorize special law enforcement officers,
when on duty, to exercise the same powers and authority as regular
members of the Police Department, including the carrying of firearms
and the power of arrest.
A.
There is hereby created a bureau of the Police Department
to be known as the "Detective Bureau," which shall be under the supervision
of the Chief of Police. The number of men assigned to the Detective
Bureau shall be determined by the Chief of Police with the consent
of the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Rockaway.
B.
Any regular duly appointed and qualified member of
the Police Department of the Borough of Rockaway may be assigned to
and reassigned from the Detective Bureau at the discretion of the
Chief of Police without the necessity of obtaining the approval of
the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Rockaway. Any assignment to
and reassignment from the Detective Bureau shall in no way affect
the status of, title of or seniority rights of the regular members
of the Police Department so assigned or reassigned to the Detective
Bureau.
C.
In the event that a regular member of the Police Department
of the Borough of Rockaway, due to reassignment or for any other cause,
does not serve a full term as a detective, as may be prescribed by
the appropriate salary ordinance of the Borough of Rockaway, the pay
which said detective shall receive in addition to his regular salary
as a member of the Police Department shall be prorated for the period
of time said member of the Police Department serves within the Detective
Bureau.
[Added 4-10-2014 by Ord. No. 04-14]
A.
The Department shall be governed by such rules and regulations as
may from time to time be promulgated by the Mayor and Council or by
the Chief of Police, subject to approval by the Mayor and Council.
B.
The rules and regulations of the Police Department will be kept on
file in the office of the Borough Clerk, in the office of the Police
Chief, and in the office of the Police Department.
C.
These rules and regulations are applicable to all police officers
of the Department and to all civilian employees of the Department,
where appropriate.
D.
One copy of these rules and regulations shall be electronically distributed
to each employee of the Department.
[Added 6-8-2017 by Ord.
No. 08-17; amended 8-10-2017 by Ord. No. 11-17; 10-26-2017 by Ord. No. 18-17]
A.
General requirements; eligibility. The Borough of Rockaway governing
body desires to promote the most qualified candidates to the position
of Chief of Police, Lieutenant and/or Sergeant. This subsection establishes
the eligibility requirements and the process for promotion to the
Chief of Police, Lieutenant and/or Sergeant. The promotion process
shall be on the basis of merit, education, demonstrated ability, record
review, interview and vision statement. In accordance with N.J.S.A.
40A:14-129, promotion of any officer shall be made from the membership
of the Department. To be considered for the position of Chief of Police,
the candidates must have previously been serving the Borough in the
rank of Sergeant or higher. Candidates must have served in the title
of Sergeant or higher for a minimum of three years. To be considered
for the position of Lieutenant, the candidates must have previously
been serving the Borough in the rank of Sergeant. Candidates must
have served in the title of Sergeant for a minimum of two years. To
be considered for the position of Sergeant, the candidates must have
previously been serving the Borough in the rank of Patrolman. Candidates
must have served in the title of Patrolman for a minimum of three
years.
B.
Promotional process. Candidates for the position of Chief of Police,
Lieutenant, and/or Sergeant shall participate in a promotional process
administered by the Public Safety Committee. The Chief of Police shall
announce the promotional process to members of the Police Department
by posting the announcement in the common area of the Police Department
and/or the Police Department bulletin board. The posting announcement
shall contain, at a minimum, the rank to be filled, years of experience
required in subsequent rank, and prospective date for the interview
and the details for the required written statement. Candidates who
qualify shall notify the Chief of Police of his or her interest in
the promotion by submitting a letter of interest no later than 10
calendar days after the promotion announcement. Failure to do so shall
render the officer ineligible to participate in the promotional process.
C.
Promotion testing procedure. The promotion testing procedure for
the Rockaway Borough Police Department shall consist of an oral interview,
record review and written statement.
(1)
Oral interview(s).
(a)
The interview shall be conducted by the Public Safety Committee.
The interview shall focus on but not be limited to the candidates'
knowledge of the Borough of Rockaway's form of government, police
administration, leadership and management abilities, Borough ordinances,
Police Department budget, Attorney General guidelines, staffing, community
service, and N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.
(b)
All candidates shall be given the same identical questions and
the Public Safety Committee shall administer the questions.
(c)
Each candidate shall be graded on a sixty-point scale.
(2)
Record review.
(a)
The candidates' personnel records shall be reviewed, which
shall include evaluation records, education, commendations, special
training, military service, leadership and discipline. The review
of the personnel records shall be conducted by the Public Safety Committee.
[1]
The record review shall be graded on a twenty-five-point scale.
The weight of each category of the process shall be as follows:
[a]
Last three years of performance evaluations: 0
to 5 points
5 points total for any "Exceeds"
3 points total for all "Meets"
0 point total for any "Does Not Meet"
[b]
Education: 0 to 5 points
5 points if completed master's degree
3 points if completed bachelor's degree
2 points if completed associate's degree
[c]
Years of law enforcement service (Police Chief
or Lieutenant)
1 point of credit for up to 20 years of service
3 points for 21 to 25 years of service
5 points for over 25 years of service
[d]
Years of law enforcement service (Sergeant)
1 point of credit for up to 7 years of service
3 points for 8 to 15 years of service
5 points for over 15 years of service
[e]
Commendations: 0 to 2 points
1 point for each commendation up to a maximum of 2 points
[f]
Specialized training: 0 to 3 points
1 point for each specialized training (i.e., FBI training, SWAT,
Police Administration, etc.) up to a maximum of 3 points
[g]
Veteran: 5 points for 2 or more years of service
[h]
Disciplinary actions: Last 5 years
Each major sustained discipline (suspension of more than 5 days)
will result in a deduction of 2 points.
Each minor sustained discipline (five-day suspension or less,
including written reprimands) will result in a deduction of 1 point.
All previous sustained disciplinary actions shall be considered
and reviewed to achieve the broadest scope of review for the given
candidate by his/her supervisors.
(3)
Written statement: Each candidate shall provide a written statement
of no more than 10 pages, along with their letter of interest in the
promotion. The written statement shall explain what the candidate's
vision is for the Police Department over the next five years. Each
candidate's statement shall be graded on a fifteen-point scale.
(4)
Each candidate shall be ranked based on the total score as outlined
above. The candidates shall then be ranked from the highest to lowest
based on score. The list shall include the candidates' names
and final scores and shall be afforded to the Mayor and Borough Council.
Thereafter, the Mayor shall make his final determination and appointment
in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:60-5(g).
(5)
Where two or more candidates are ranked equally pursuant to the promotional
procedure set forth herein, preference shall be given to the candidate
with the most seniority in service pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-129,
or a resident over a nonresident pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-122.6.
Residency shall prevail over seniority in the case of candidates that
are ranked equally.
D.
Lieutenant and/or Sergeant appeal of process. Within 10 days of the
decision of the Public Safety Committee on a promotion, a candidate
may file a written letter of appeal. Said letter must contain the
reason(s) or justification(s) for an appeal and must be submitted
to the Chief of Police. The Public Safety Committee and the Chief
of Police will assess the request and make a determination of how
the request will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
