[Added 2-13-2007 by Ord.
No. 2007-01]
The Township Police Department shall consist
of one lieutenant, one sergeant, one corporal and four patrolmen.
Once each year, at the organizational meeting
of the Township Committee, the Mayor, with the consent and approval
of the majority of the Township Committee, shall appoint a member
of the Township Committee as Police Commissioner. The Township Committee
and the Police Commissioner shall provide for the maintenance and
control of the Police Department. Such control shall be exercised
through the Chief of Police. The Police Commissioner may be removed
from that position by a majority of the Township Committee.
In the exercise of its powers and duties, the
Police Department shall:
A. Preserve the public peace; prevent crime; detect and
arrest offenders against the penal laws and ordinances effective within
the Township; suppress riots, mobs and insurrections, disperse unlawful
or dangerous assemblages; and preserve order at all elections and
public meetings and assemblages.
B. Administer and enforce laws and ordinances to regulate,
direct, control and restrict the movement of vehicular and pedestrian
traffic and the use of streets by vehicles and persons, and make rules
and regulations, not inconsistent with the ordinances and general
law, for such purpose.
C. Remove all nuisances in public streets, parks and
other public places; inspect and observe all places of public amusement
or assemblages and all places of business requiring any state or municipal
license or permit.
D. Provide proper police attendance and protection at
fires.
E. Provide proper police attendance and protection at
municipal courts.
F. Provide for the attendance of its police officers
or civilian employees in court as necessary for the prosecution and
trial of person charged with crimes and other violations of the law,
and cooperate fully with the law enforcement and prosecuting authorities
of federal, state and county governments.
G. Enforce the laws and ordinances in effect within the
Township and prevent the violation of them by any person; apprehend
and arrest all persons legally charged with the violation of any law
or ordinance.
H. Operate a training program to maintain and improve
the police efficiency of the members of the Department.
The compensation of the members of the Police
Department shall be fixed by the Salary Ordinance of the Township
of Independence.
[Added 4-9-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-02]
A. Duties and powers. During a vacancy in
the position of Chief of Police, a municipal department head for the
Police Department shall be appointed by the Mayor and Committee to
fulfill the following duties:
(1) Supervise the Police Chief or acting officer
in charge, who shall be directly responsible to the department head
for the efficiency and routine day-to-day operations of the police
and fire rank and file.
(2) Promulgate policies, rules and regulations
for the effective disposition of the police function and the discipline
of the officers and personnel of the force.
(3) Determine the powers, functions, duties
and assignments of officers and personnel of the force.
(4) Administer, supervise and direct the personnel
and functions of the Department.
(5) Administer and enforce the rules and regulations
and special emergency directives for the disposition and discipline
of its officers and personnel.
(6) Periodically promulgate reports for the
Mayor and Committee regarding the operation of the Department.
(7) Perform such other duties as directed by
the Mayor and Committee.
B. No police power. A person who is appointed
as the department head hereunder does not acquire and is not conferred
police powers by virtue of that designation or appointment or by virtue
of the fact that the person had been a police or other law enforcement
officer prior to the designation or appointment, and shall not exercise
police powers or perform police duties, including, but not limited
to, the following:
(1) Operate a marked or unmarked police vehicle,
conduct a motor vehicle stop, engage in patrol activities, or answer
calls for service;
(2) Stop, detain, or arrest persons;
(3) Wear a law enforcement officer uniform
of any type or class, display a badge of any type, or otherwise exhibit
evidence of police authority;
(4) Obtain criminal history or motor vehicle
record information or access criminal investigative reports;
(5) Direct internal affairs investigations
or access records related to these investigations;
(6) Direct criminal investigations; or
(7) Carry a firearm while performing the duties
of department head of the Police Department.