[Amended 4-21-1980 by Ord. No. 80-12; 11-4-1991 by Ord. No. 91-22; 9-15-1997 by Ord. No. 97-20; 9-13-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-14]
A. There is hereby created the rank of Sergeant who shall perform supervisory
police work in the field and in police headquarters. Sergeants shall
be appointed by the Mayor in consultation with the Appropriate Authority/Borough
Administrator and the Police Chief as set forth herein.
B. The Sergeant is designated shift commander and is responsible for
providing police patrol services during the duty tour and until properly
relieved. He or she has direct control and supervisory authority over
patrol division personnel operating on a squad basis on his or her
shift. This includes both sworn police officers and civilian personnel.
Under the general direction of the Lieutenant, the Sergeant is responsible
for the effective implementation of programs and activities to meet
departmental goals. Through human resource scheduling and assignment
task prioritization and the direction and supervision of activities,
the Sergeant is responsible for the most effective use of police human
resources.
C. The following consists of examples of work performed by Sergeants:
(1) Supervises and directs the work of patrol squad assigned to him or
her.
(2) Inspects officers prior to start of tour of duty, assigns duties
and provides oral review of status of police operations within the
Borough.
(3) Within the guidelines of standing orders and priorities, determines
appropriate police activities for shift period and assigns personnel
accordingly.
(4) Provides physical backup and takes operational control of field situations
when necessary.
(5) Reviews all reports, actions and decisions of squad personnel.
(6) Evaluates work of subordinates, provides or arranges for necessary
guidance or training and makes recommendations to the Captain of Operations.
(7) Prepares end-of-shift report to inform succeeding shift of events
within the Borough and the status of police operations.
(8) Assists the division commander in reviewing program effectiveness
and formulation of divisional budget request.
[Amended 7-7-1986 by Ord.
No. 86-16; 11-17-1986 by Ord. No. 86-26; 11-4-1991 by Ord. No. 91-22; 11-7-2000 by Ord.
No. 2000-14; 6-18-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-5; 9-13-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-14]
A. Procedure.
(1) The promotional procedure to the position of Sergeant from that of
patrol officer within the Department shall be comprised of the following
criteria:
(b)
Evaluation of the Chief of Police.
(c)
Evaluation of the Captain of Operations.
(d)
Evaluation of the Lieutenant(s).
(e)
Evaluation of the Borough Administrator.
(f)
A score of at least 65 must be obtained on a written examination
approved by the Chief of Police. Any candidates scoring less than
a 65 will be eliminated from the remainder of the process.
[Amended 1-30-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-01]
(2) The weight assigned to each of the aforestated criteria for the purposes
of ranking the candidate shall be as follows:
Promotional Criteria
|
Maximum Points Per Category
|
---|
Seniority and service
|
20
|
Chief of Police evaluation
|
65
|
Captain of Operations evaluation
|
30
|
Lieutenants' evaluation
|
20 each evaluation
|
Appropriate authority/Borough Administrator evaluation
|
65
|
(3) Seniority. In accordance with the chart set forth above, the maximum
20 points for seniority and service shall be determined for each candidate
by allotting one point per year for each of the first 15 years in
service and 1/2 point for each year of service between a candidate's
16th through 25th year of service. Additionally, no patrol officer
shall be eligible for a promotion to the position of Sergeant until
he/she has served with the Borough of Metuchen Police Department as
a sworn law enforcement officer for at least five complete years.
Fractional years of service shall not be calculated in the numbers
of whole years for purposes of the calculation of points and shall
be determined as of the date when the position is to be made available.
B. Police Chief evaluation. The Chief of Police shall allot to each
individual candidate a mathematical score, up to a maximum of 65 points,
based upon an evaluation which shall consider past performance, leadership
skills, management skills, personal strengths and weaknesses and other
factors reasonably considered by the Chief to be related to the responsibilities
of the position of Sergeant.
C. Captain of operations evaluation. The Captain of Operations shall
make a similar, but independent, appraisal of the individual candidates
based upon the same factors as the Chief of Police, with a maximum
point total of 30 points.
D. Lieutenants' evaluation. The Lieutenant(s) shall make a similar,
but independent, appraisal of the individual candidates based upon
the same factors as the Chief of Police and Captain of Operations,
with a maximum point total of 20 points for each Lieutenant's evaluation.
E. Appropriate authority/Borough Administrator evaluation. The Borough
Administrator shall assign a point total, up to 65 points, based upon
the Administrator's estimate of the personality strengths and weaknesses,
leadership and supervisory qualities, ease and skill in interacting
with the public, management skills and other qualities reasonably
considered as relevant to the responsibilities of the position of
Sergeant.
F. Selection process. The individuals' names with the top three scores
will be submitted to the Mayor for his/her consideration. If a promotion
is made, the Mayor shall promote any one of the top three candidates,
regardless of ranking. If there are two Sergeant positions available,
the top four candidates' names will be submitted to the Mayor. For
each additional position available, one candidate's name will be added
to the list submitted to the Mayor for consideration.
G. Maintenance of ranking list. Once posted, the ranking list shall
remain in effect for up to two years, unless the Mayor exercises its
discretion to call for a new test because additional candidates would
be eligible for consideration to the position of Sergeant or the Mayor
exercises its discretion to extend the list beyond two years for a
period of time determined by the Mayor.
H. Removal from list. The name of any candidate may be removed from
the list based on disciplinary action taken by the Department against
the candidate after the list has been established.
[Amended 11-4-1991 by Ord. No. 91-22]
The Sergeants assigned to detective duties shall perform under
the supervision of the Captain of Operations and Chief of Police in
accordance with all special and general orders, rules and regulations
of the Department. All Sergeants shall conform to all the rules and
regulations of the Police Department insofar as they do not conflict
with other instructions of superior officers.
Sergeants of police shall carefully note every case of neglect,
misconduct or other violation of the rules and regulations of the
Police Department on the part of any member and shall promptly report
the same to the Chief of Police.