[HISTORY: Article I §§ 21-1—21-7 adopted
March 7, 2001 by Ord. No. 11-2001 as amended through December 31, 2016. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this Article I is to require that all persons who volunteer their services in South Amboy Recreational Programs, and who have contact with children and teenagers as a result of such volunteer services, shall be requested to consent to a criminal history record check prior to performing any such volunteer services. Applicants for volunteer positions will be disqualified from performing volunteer services if: (i) any such applicant shall refuse to consent to a criminal history record check, or (ii) if a criminal history record check to which an applicant has consented discloses a conviction for any offense which would disqualify an applicant for paid public school employment as defined in Section 1 of P.L. 1986, c. 116 (N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.1).
Prior to performing any volunteer services, all applicants for
volunteer positions in the City of South Amboy Recreation Department
shall be requested to provide a written consent, on forms to be furnished
by the City, allowing the City of South Amboy to perform criminal
history record checks on the applicant, and authorizing the City of
South Amboy to exchange fingerprint data and receive criminal history
record information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
Division of State Police for use in making the determinations to be
made under this Ordinance. Any applicant who refuses to consent to
such a background check will not be permitted to provide volunteer
services and the City shall decline to accept such volunteer services.
An applicant for volunteer services shall submit to the City
of South Amboy his or her name or address, and fingerprints taken
on standard fingerprint cards by the South Amboy Police Department
or other law enforcement agency.
Upon receipt of the criminal history record information for
an applicant from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Division
of State Police, the City of South Amboy shall notify the applicant,
in writing, of the applicant's qualification or disqualification as
a recreational volunteer. If the applicant is disqualified, the convictions
which constitute the basis for the disqualification shall be identified
in the written notice to the applicant.
An applicant shall have 14 days from the date of the written
notice of disqualification to challenge the accuracy of the criminal
history record information. No applicant for volunteer services shall
be disqualified from providing volunteer services without first having
an opportunity to challenge the accuracy of the disqualifying criminal
history record.
A volunteer applicant shall be permanently disqualified from
volunteer services if the individual's criminal history record reveals
a record of conviction for a crime or any other offense for which
public school employment candidates are disqualified pursuant to Section
1 of P.L. 1986, c. 116 (N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.1), as follows:
A.
Any crime of the first or second degree (i.e., severe or aggravated
offenses such as murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, sexual assault);
C.
An offense as set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4 (endangering welfare
of children) and N.J.S.A. 2C:24-7 (endangering welfare of incompetent
person);
D.
An offense as set forth in N.J.S.A. 9:6-1 (child abuse, abandonment,
cruelty or neglect);
E.
An offense as set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2 (resisting arrest, eluding
officer);
F.
An offense involving the manufacture, transportation, sale, possession,
distribution, or habitual use of a "controlled dangerous substance"
as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:35-1, et seq., or "drug paraphernalia" as
defined pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:36-1, et seq.;
G.
A crime involving the use of force or the threat of force to or upon
a person or property including, but not limited to, robbery, aggravated
assault, stalking, kidnapping, arson, manslaughter and murder;
H.
A crime as set forth in Chapter 39 of Title 2C of the New Jersey
Statutes (firearms and dangerous weapons);
I.
A third degree crime as set forth in Chapter 20 of Title 2C of the
New Jersey Statutes (theft and related offenses);
J.
A crime as listed below:
(1)
Recklessly endangering another person, N.J.S.A. 2C: 12-2;
(2)
Terroristic threats, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3;
(3)
Criminal restraint, N.J.S.A. 2C: 13-2;
(4)
Luring, enticing child into motor vehicle, structure or isolated
area, N.J.S.A. 2C: 13-6;
(5)
Causing or risking widespread injury or damage, N.J.S.A. 2C:17-2;
(6)
Criminal mischief, N.J.S.A. 2C:17-3;
(7)
Burglary N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2;
(8)
Usury, N.J.S.A. 2C:21-19;
(9)
Threats and other improper influence, N.J.S.A. 2C:27-3;
(10)
Perjury and false swearing, N.J.S.A. 2C:28-3;
(11)
Escape, N.J.S.A. 2C:29-5;
K.
Conspiracy to commit or an attempt to commit any of the crimes described
in this section.
For the purposes of this section, a conviction exists if the
individual has at any time been convicted under the law of this State
or under any similar statutes of the United States or any other state
for a substantially equivalent crime or other offense,
If an applicant's criminal history record check reveals that
charges are pending for a crime or any other offenses enumerated in
Section 1 of P.L. 1986, c. 116 (N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.1), the applicant
will be notified that he or she is not eligible to provide volunteer
services until the Governing Body of the City of South Amboy has made
a determination regarding qualification or disqualification upon adjudication
of the pending charges.
The City of South Amboy may maintain the criminal record and
application documents on an applicant for no longer than three years
from the date of determination as to the candidate's qualification
or disqualification for volunteer service. All documents submitted
by the candidate and all criminal history record information shall
be maintained by the City of South Amboy in a confidential manner.
If any section, subsection, clause, phrase or portion of this
Article, is, for any reason, held invalid or unconstitutional by any
court or federal or state agency of competent jurisdiction, such portion
shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and
such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
hereof.
