The establishment, maintenance, regulation and control
of the municipal police department is provided for in N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118,
et seq. (Ord. #480-99)
[Ord. #480-99; Ord. #542-03, S 1]
There is hereby established in the borough a police department
which shall consist of a chief of police, one captain, two lieutenants,
four sergeants, seven patrol officers, and such other members and
officers as shall be deemed necessary by the mayor and council, including
temporary officers and members in an emergency, who shall be appointed
to these positions together with their compensation by resolution
of the council.
[Ord. #480-99]
The police department shall:
Preserve the public peace; protect life and property; detect,
arrest and prosecute offenders of the laws of New Jersey and the ordinances
of the Borough of Little Silver; direct and control traffic; provide
attendance and protection during emergencies; rendering kindly and
efficient aid and direction in all cases; provide appearances in court;
cooperate with all other law enforcement agencies; and provide training
for the efficiency of its members and officers.
[Ord. #480-99]
The mayor and council may designate from among its membership
one or more members who shall constitute a police committee. The police
committee appointed by the mayor and council shall be designated as
the appropriate authority as provided in the New Jersey Statutes.
It shall be responsible for the overall performance of the police
department. It shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for
the government of the police department and for the discipline of
its members. All such rules and regulations promulgated by the police
committee shall be recognized and obeyed by the members of the police
department. The mayor and council, however, at any regular meeting
or special meeting called for such purpose, may annul or set aside
any rules or regulation of the police committee or the chief of police.
[Ord. #480-99]
The chief of police shall be the head of the police department
and shall be directly responsible to the police committee for its
efficiency and day-to-day operations. Pursuant to policies established
by the police committee, 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; and
e.
Report
at least monthly to the police committee 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 police
committee.
[Ord. #480-99]
The chief of police shall have charge of police headquarters
and command over the members of the police department, subject always
to the orders of the police committee or mayor and council.
[Ord. #480-99]
The salaries of the members of the police department shall be
determined by ordinance. No temporary police officer shall be entitled
to pay except for services rendered by virtue of an order by the police
committee and for such services he or she shall be paid only the amount
determined by ordinance of the mayor and council, except when any
temporary officers may be designated to perform regular patrol duty
at the pleasure of the mayor and council.
In addition to the annual salary of the members of the police
department as determined by ordinance aforesaid, the officer or designated
employee shall receive longevity.
The longevity payment by way of salary shall be paid bi-weekly
and shall be reported to the New Jersey Police Pension Fund, together
with the annual salary as regular base salary as part of the officers'
salaries. The aforesaid longevity payment program for each officer
shall continue until such time as the officer retires. The longevity
payment shall not be compounded annually but shall be added to the
annual salary as the annual salary may be increased.
[Ord. #480-99]
Any equipment which may be supplied to the members of the police
department shall be the property of the borough. All equipment used
in the police department shall be as prescribed by the mayor and council.
[Ord. #480-99]
The members of the police department shall be appointed by the
mayor and council in accordance with the requirements of the statutes
of New Jersey and they shall hold office in accordance therewith.
No person shall be appointed to the police department who is not qualified
as provided in the New Jersey Statutes. The mayor and council may
also require that an applicant for appointment to the police department
shall successfully complete a physical, mental, and psychological
examination.
No such appointment shall be made unless such person has successfully
completed a police training course at a school approved and authorized
by the Police Training Commission in the Department of Law and Public
Safety of the State of New Jersey pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:17B-66 et
seq.
[Ord. #480-99]
The probation period for police officers shall be for a period
of one year; provided, however, that a six-month extension may be
granted, by resolution of the mayor and council, if an officer is
enrolled in an approved training course prior to expiration of the
one year period, or is scheduled prior to expiration of the one year
period to attend an approved training course which commences subsequent
to the one year period. No person shall be permitted to take a police
training course unless he or she holds a probationary or temporary
appointment as a police officer in the borough and the appointee shall
be entitled to a leave of absence with pay during the period of the
police training course. The probationary police officer may be dropped
from the rolls or discharged at any time during such probationary
period without notice and without hearing. The mayor and council may,
at any time appoint such probationary member of the police department
as a permanent member of the police department by official resolution.
The continued employment of any probationary police officer after
the expiration of his probationary period shall be deemed a permanent
appointment.
[Ord. #480-99]
The mayor and council may, subject to subsection 4-9.30 et seq., hereinafter, appoint such temporary police personnel as it deems necessary to provide adequate police protection to the Borough of Little Silver. Temporary police personnel shall be employees of the police department. However, they shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the personnel resolutions of the borough and so far as vacation time, sick time and other benefits afforded employees of the borough, they shall be paid on an hourly basis and only for those times when authorized by the chief of police or the superior officer on duty as necessary and actually on duty as a police officer.
No person shall be appointed as a temporary police officer who
is not qualified by law to serve as a regular police officer.
[Ord. #480-99]
Every member of the police department shall submit to a thorough
physical examination every three years. In addition each member of
the police department is hereby charged with the duty of notifying
the mayor and council of any accident resulting in injury to said
member or any illness suffered by said member and the nature and extent
of same and if ordered by the mayor and council the member shall submit
to a physical examination by a physician designated by the mayor and
council for determination as to his or her fitness for service.
[Ord. #480-99]
All promotions shall be made from the membership of the department
as constituted at the time of the promotion and shall be made with
regard to the length of service of the person proposed to be promoted
and his or her merit in the department. No promotion may be granted
any officer who has not served three years with the Little Silver
police department prior to his or her promotion. The mayor and council
may direct all candidates for a superior position to submit to an
examination to be conducted by the State Police Association. The results
of the examinations shall be advisory only and shall not be binding
in making promotions.
[Ord. #480-99]
No member or officer of the police department shall be suspended,
removed, fined, or reduced in rank for any cause other than for incapacity,
misconduct, or disobedience as provided in the New Jersey Statutes
and the police department's rules and regulations.
Offenses constituting incapacity, misconduct, or disobedience,
in addition to those specifically enumerated below, shall be those
listed under N.J.A.C. 4A:2-23. Additional specific offenses shall
include:
a.
Failure to read the daily reports when entering upon or leaving his
or her tour of duty.
b.
Failure to carry on or follow through unfinished duties without orders
from his or her superiors.
c.
Failure to divulge to the police department all information, evidence
and other relevant data pertaining to any active case.
d.
Failure to report the extent of the violation of any ordinance or
law coming to his or her attention.
e.
Intoxication while on or off duty.
f.
Willful disobedience of orders of the mayor and council, the police
committee, the chief of police or any superior officer.
g.
Indecent, profane or harsh language.
h.
Disrespect to a superior officer.
i.
Unnecessary violence to prisoners.
j.
Leaving assignment of duty without just cause.
k.
Neglect in paying just debts for rent or necessities contracted while
in the service.
l.
Immorality, indecency or lewdness.
m.
Absence without leave.
n.
Incompetency, lack of energy and incapacity, mentally or physically.
o.
Entering, while in uniform, any place in which intoxicating beverages
may be sold or furnished or introducing any intoxicating beverage
into the police station, unless in discharge of duty.
p.
Drinking of any kind of intoxicating beverages while on duty.
q.
Sleeping on duty.
r.
Neglect of duty.
s.
Violation of any criminal law.
t.
For making known the proposed action or movements of the force or
the provisions of any orders to persons outside the force.
u.
Conduct not becoming to a police officer.
v.
Conduct subversive of good order and the discipline of the force.
w.
Not properly patrolling assignment of duty.
x.
Publicly commenting upon the official conduct of a superior officer
or any borough official.
y.
Violation of any regulation, rule or order of the mayor and council,
police committee, police chief or of any of the provisions contained
in this chapter.
z.
Visiting places of public resort in uniform except in the performance
of duty.
[Ord. #480-99]
Each and every member of the police department shall devote
his or her time and attention to the business of the department. At
all times they shall be prepared to act immediately on notice that
their services are required. The mayor and council, upon application
by the chief of police of any member for permission to do so, may
authorize such member of the police department to engage in outside
or additional employment which does not conflict or interfere with
his proper performance of his or her duties as a police officer.
[Ord. #480-99]
Punctual attendance, prompt obedience to orders, and conformity
to the rules of the department shall be rigidly enforced.
[Ord. #480-99]
Each member, in his or her conduct and deportment shall be quiet,
civil and orderly and in the performance of his duty he or she shall
maintain decorum and attention, command of temper, patience and discretion.
Each member shall at all times refrain from harsh, violent, coarse,
profane or insolent language, yet at the same time when required,
act with firmness and sufficient energy to perform his or her duty.
Members shall be civil and respectful to each other on all occasions.
[Ord. #480-99]
No member of the department shall, while on duty, drink any
kind of intoxicating liquor, or, except in the immediate performance
of his duty, enter any place in which intoxicating drink may be sold
or furnished. No intoxicating drink of any kind upon any pretext shall
be introduced into the police station, except when prescribed by a
physician, or in discharge of duty.
[Ord. #480-99]
No member shall accept from any person while in custody or after
he or she shall have been discharged, nor from any of such person's
friends or family, any gratuity or gift, directly or indirectly, nor
from any person, without the written permission of the mayor and council,
compensation for damages sustained in the discharge of his duty.
[Ord. #480-99]
Members of the department shall not receive any compensation
or reward for services, other than their pay as police officers of
this department, unless by permission of the police committee of the
mayor and council.
[Ord. #480-99]
No member of the department shall withdraw any complaint without
sufficient cause.
[Ord. #480-99]
No member shall communicate to any person any information, which
may enable such person to escape from arrest or punishment, or enable
such person to dispose of secrets, any goods or valuable thing stolen
or embezzled.
[Ord. #480-99]
No member shall communicate except to such persons as directed
by his or her superior in office, any information respecting orders,
which such member may have received, or any regulations that may be
made for the government of the department.
[Ord. #480-99]
Each member shall enter the names of persons taken in charge
by said member, any particulars in each case as will be important
in case of trial and shall file the same with the chief of police.
[Ord. #480-99]
No member of the police department shall be absent from duty
without permission from the chief of police or the officer in charge
of the department.
[Ord. #480-99]
The right of every member of the police department to entertain
political or partisan opinions and to express the same freely when
it shall not concern the immediate discharge of his or her official
duties and the right of elective franchise shall be deemed sacred
and inviolate, but no regular member of the police force will be permitted
to be a delegate or representative to or member of any political or
partisan convention whose purpose is the nomination of any candidate
to any political office. No member of the police department shall
act as a member of the board of registry and election for any election.
[Ord. #480-99]
No member of the force shall withdraw or resign while charges
are pending against such member, except by permission of the mayor
and council. The unexplained or unauthorized absence for five days
or more of any member of the force shall be deemed and held to be
a resignation by such member and so accepted.
[Ord. #480-99]
Members of the force are required to report their places of
residence to the chief of police and also report any change of residence
within 24 hours after change shall occur.
[Ord. #480-99]
Police officers shall, to the extent of their ability, enforce
all ordinances of the Borough of Little Silver, prevent assaults,
breaches of the peace and all crimes about to be committed.
[Ord. #480-99]
Every officer shall appear in person at police headquarters
when going on and off duty and shall at all times be neat in his or
her person and clothes, with shoes clean and attired in conformity
with regulations.
[Ord. #480-99]
All police officers, when on duty, shall wear the shield on
the outside of their outermost garment over the left breast, so that
the entire surface of the shield may be easily and distinctly seen;
and it shall be deemed a neglect of duty on the part of any officer
carelessly to lose said shield or other insignia of office or having
lost the same, to fail to report the fact as soon as practicable to
the chief of police.
[Ord. #480-99]
Officers of every rank in the police force when on duty or when
attending court, or at the meetings of the police committee as witnesses,
or on trial of charges preferred against them, shall appear in full
uniform or other appropriate attire as determined by the chief of
police.
[Ord. #480-99]
Members of the force dismissed or resigning or suspended shall
immediately surrender to the chief of police all property of the department
which may be in their possession.
[Ord. #480-99; Ord. #568-04, S 1; Ord. #757-2014]
Service Stripes shall be worn upon the sleeves of the uniform
to denote the length of service as follows:
a.
Police Officers: For each five years of service as a Class "A" police
officer with the Borough of Little Silver, one stripe shall be placed
on the left sleeve just above the cuffs.
b.
U.S. Service Men and Women: Officers honorable discharged, or are still serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, regardless of time served, shall receive one red stripe placed on the left sleeve just above the cuffs and below any service stripe(s) worn for years of service with the Borough of Little Silver, as provided for in subsection 4-9.26a.
[Ord. #480-99]
Police officers shall carefully observe and report to the mayor
and council any defects in the streets or sidewalks or street lights.
They shall report any culverts that may not carry off water freely
and anything in the streets or elsewhere within their assignment of
duty likely to produce danger or public inconvenience, or anything
offensive or unpleasant to the residents.
[Ord. #480-99]
Members of the police force who shall willfully maltreat or
use unnecessary violence toward a prisoner or citizen may, on complaint
being made and the fact being established by competent testimony,
be immediately dismissed from the department.
[Ord. #480-99]
Each member of the department is required to enforce the law
against vagrancy, and for that purpose shall apprehend all persons
found begging in the streets and deal with them as prescribed by law.
[Ord. #480-99]
It is the intent of this subsection to define a police department
hiring procedure which will result in the appointment of the best
qualified person or persons available based on a selection process
which is open, impartial, competitive and thorough.
The following hiring procedure shall be adhered to prior to
the appointment by the mayor and the confirmation of the council for
any regular, probationary or temporary police officer:
a.
The filling of any vacancy for a regular, probationary or temporary
police officer shall first be authorized by the mayor and council.
An application period of not less than two weeks shall be specified
and an individual responsible for receiving applications.
b.
Notice of this opening must be posted on borough bulletin boards
provided for that purpose, also advertised in no fewer than two local
newspapers. This advertisement must be prominently located in the
newspaper. It shall appear no fewer than two times in each newspaper.
c.
At the completion of the application period, all candidates at the
discretion of the mayor and council may be required to take the Monmouth
County Police Chiefs Examination, or an equivalent examination which
is approved by the mayor and council. Any candidates who have already
taken the examination on a prior occasion, may, at their option, retake
the examination, with the highest score to apply.
d.
An interviewing committee, designated by the mayor and council, shall
then interview a specified number of applicants who scored highest
on the examination, as determined by the mayor and council. The mayor
and council may, at their option, include in the group to be interviewed
any borough employee who has applied for the position, provided the
mayor and council judge this candidate to be qualified for the position.
The number of candidates interviewed shall be no fewer than ten, unless
the mayor and council authorizes a smaller number. At the conclusion
of the interviewing period, the committee shall select, by whatever
process they choose, a final group of applicants to be professionally
evaluated. The interviewing committee's decision should be based
on but not necessarily limited to the following characteristics: intelligence,
maturity, judgment, experience, desire, communication skills, self-confidence,
and the physical capability to discharge the duties of the position.
e.
Prior to hiring a regular or probationary police officer, the mayor
and council shall designate at least one independent professionally
qualified consultant or authority on police science and psychology
to interview the final applicants. After the interview, the consultant
shall make written confidential assessments and recommendations as
to the professional and psychological fitness of each final applicant.
This final group of applicants shall be no fewer than five, unless
the mayor and council has authorized a smaller number.
f.
After reviewing all the applications and recommendations with the
borough council, the mayor shall appoint, subject to council confirmation,
the individual or individuals who, in his or her judgment, are best
qualified for the position following the further requirements of this
chapter and the Statutes of New Jersey.
[Ord. #480-99]
The mayor and council, whenever they shall deem it necessary,
may appoint special police officers for terms not exceeding one year.
Such officers shall possess and exercise all the powers and duties
provided by said statutes during their term in office. Such officers
shall not be members of the police force, and their powers and duties
shall cease at the expiration of the terms for which they were appointed
or upon revocation of their appointments. The police chief 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.
No person shall be appointed as a special police officer unless
he or she:
a.
Is a citizen of the United States;
b.
Is able to read, write and speak the English language well and intelligently;
c.
Is sound in body and of good health;
d.
Is of good moral character; and
e.
Has not been convicted of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude.
f.
Has passed an appropriate psychological review, as required by N.J.S.A.
40A:14-146.1.
Any person, who at any time prior to his appointment had served
as a duly qualified, fully trained, full-time police officer in any
municipality of this State shall be eligible to serve as a special
police officer pursuant to this act.
No such special police officer shall carry a revolver or other
similar weapon when off duty. The on duty weapon shall be returned
to the officer in charge of the shift at the conclusion of the special
officer's tour of duty.
Every such special police officer shall have his or her fingerprints
taken and they shall be filed with the Division of State Police and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Such special police officer shall
be under the supervision and direction of the chief of police of the
municipality wherein he or she is appointed and shall perform his
or her duties only in such municipality unless in fresh pursuit of
any person pursuant to Chapter 156 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Such special police officer shall comply with the rules and regulations
applicable to the conduct and decorum of the regular police officers
of the municipality.
Before any such appointment is made the chief of police of the
municipality shall ascertain the eligibility and qualifications of
the applicant and make a report thereon to the governing body.
[Ord. #480-99]
Property stolen or embezzled, or allegedly stolen or embezzled,
or any property found in the possession of persons arrested, shall
be delivered to the chief of police, or officer in charge of the station
house, who shall keep a record with all the facts in the case. All
lost property coming into the possession of any member of the department
shall be delivered to the chief or his designee for safe keeping.
[Ord. #480-99]
Any member of the force who is prevented from reporting to the
station house at any time when it may be his or her duty to do so,
shall immediately report the reason for such absence to the chief
or officer in charge of the station house. Members of the force absent
from duty because of sickness shall be paid in accordance with the
current collective bargaining agreement then in force between the
parties. In the event that the police officer exceeds all benefits
under the current collective bargaining agreement, he or she may be
paid his or her salary at the discretion of the mayor and council.
[Ord. #480-99]
When a crime has been committed and the chief has cause to suspect
that negligence is attributable to the police officer on whose assignment
of duty the crime has been committed, the police officer shall be
subject to immediate suspension, with or without pay, as allowed by
Statute and shall be subject to the disciplinary procedures set forth
herein and in the New Jersey Revised Statutes, Chapter 40A, Title
14.
[Ord. #480-99]
No person shall be permitted to remain in the police station
without permission from the officer in charge, except members of the
department and persons on business relating to the department.
[Ord. #480-99]
All persons who may be arrested shall be conveyed to the police
station. Property shall be removed from a prisoner if: it is unlawfully
carried; is required as evidence; is lawfully carried but is dangerous
to life; would facilitate escape; can be used to damage or deface
department property.
All personal property including money which is taken from a
prisoner shall be placed in an envelope, sealed and shall be signed
by the arresting officer in the presence of the prisoner and held
for safe keeping. The person receiving the property shall be required
to sign a receipt.
Former Section 4-15, Medical Insurance Benefits During Retirement,
previously codified herein and containing portions of Ordinance No.
480-99, was repealed in its entirety by Ordinance No. 754-14.
