City of Vineland, NJ Article III Special Law Enforcement Officers

[Adopted 9-9-1986 by Ord. No. 86-47[1] (Ch. 96, Art. III, of the 1990 Code)]

[1] Editor's Note: The preamble to this ordinance provided as follows: "WHEREAS, the Special Law Enforcement Officers Act, N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.8, was signed into law in January of 1986 and is to be effective as of October 1, 1986; and WHEREAS, a 'special law enforcement officer' is defined by the act as any person appointed as a special police officer to temporarily or intermittently perform duties similar to those performed regularly by members of a police force of a local unit to provide assistance to a police force during unusual or emergency circumstances or at individual times or during regular seasonal periods in resort municipalities; and WHEREAS, pursuant to said act, the governing body of a municipality must, by ordinance, make certain determinations with regard to the appointment of special police officers in said municipality."

§ 123-20 Appointment.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Special Law Enforcement Officers Act,[1] there shall be two categories of special law enforcement officers who may be appointed as special officers in the Police Department of the City of Vineland:

A. The City Council may appoint such Class One officers as are needed to supplement the Police Department of the City of Vineland, subject only to budget appropriations available in the municipal budget to be adopted in each year. Class One officers shall be authorized and empowered to issue summonses for violations of municipal ordinances and parking violations under municipal ordinances and under Title 39 of the Statutes Annotated of the State of New Jersey.

B. The City Council may appoint as many Class Two special officers as is permitted by N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.17, and shall be entitled to perform such duties as are permitted by the Special Law Enforcement Officers Act and by the certification which each such officer receives from the Police Training Commission.[2]

[Amended 1-24-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-2]

[2] Editor's Note: For such duties as are permitted by the Special Law Enforcement Act, see N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.

C. The City Council may appoint such Class Three special officers as is permitted by N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.11 and N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.17 and shall be entitled to perform such duties as are permitted by the Special Law Enforcement Officers Act.

[Added 2-23-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-10]

[1] Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.8 et seq.

§ 123-21 Employment limitation.

[Amended 2-23-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-10]

Special law enforcement officers appointed to the Police Department of the City of Vineland may be employed for not more than 20 hours weekly, except that they may serve without hourly limitation during periods of emergency. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, there may be appointed one special law enforcement officer to whom an hourly limitation, as required herein, does not apply.

A. An emergency is defined as any sudden, unexpected or unforeseeable event requiring the immediate use or deployment of law enforcement personnel.

B. In determining whether an emergency exists to justify the deployment of special law enforcement officers, the Chief of Police or, in his absence, the officer in charge of the City of Vineland Police Department or the Mayor of the City of Vineland or the Director of Public Safety of the City of Vineland is hereby authorized to designate the existence of an emergency.

§ 123-22 Equipment and uniforms. [1]

There shall be no fee charged or cost assessed for equipment and uniforms which are supplied to special officers appointed to serve in the Police Department of the City of Vineland.

[1] Editor’s Note: Former § 123-22, Residency requirement, was repealed 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-23. This ordinance also renumbered former §§ 123-23, 123-24, and 123-24.1 as §§ 123-22, 123-23, and 123-24, respectively.

§ 123-23 Eligibility.

Prior to appointment of any special officer, the Chief of the Police Department or, in his absence, the officer in charge of the City of Vineland Police Department shall ascertain the eligibility and qualifications of any person who is recommended for appointment as a special officer in the City of Vineland Police Department and shall report these determinations, in writing, to the City Council prior to such person being appointed as a special law enforcement officer.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former § 123-24.1, Establishment of liaison police officer for Vineland Municipal Court, added 12-26-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-65, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 1-29-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-2. Original Art. IV, Street-Marking and Traffic Sign Unit, adopted 4-10-1990 by Ord. No. 90-22, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 4-27-1993 by Ord. No. 93-37.

§ 123-24 Compensation of special law enforcement officers.

[Added 3-10-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-14; amended 2-23-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-10]

The compensation rate for special law enforcement officers shall be as follows:

A. Class One officer: $15 to $18 per hour.

B. Class Two officer with less than 25 years of law enforcement experience: $17 to $25 per hour.

C. Class Two officer with 25 years or more of law enforcement experience: $30 to $35 per hour.

D. Part-time court liaison officers assigned to the Vineland Municipal Court shall be paid an hourly wage equal to Class Two officers in accordance with Subsections B and C hereinabove.

[Amended 7-13-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-40]

E. Class Three officer: $25 to $30 per hour.