[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Lincoln as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
CHARTER REFERENCES
Police Department — See Art. IX.
[Adopted as §§ 18-1-1 through 18-1-4 of the 1972 Code (Ch. 16, Art. II, of the 1990 Code of Ordinances); amended in its entirety 4-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-3]
The purpose of this article is to establish the qualifications and examination procedures, etc., for filling vacancies at the patrol officer level in the Police Department.
A. 
The following are the qualifications for applicants for appointment to the Police Department:
(1) 
United States citizenship.
(2) 
Minimum age: 18.
(3) 
Education: High school graduate or equivalent.
(4) 
Vision must be correctable to 20/20.
(5) 
All candidates must pass a rigid physical and psychiatric examination prescribed by the Director of Public Health.
(6) 
Upon appointment, must serve a one-year probationary period.
B. 
Candidates passing the qualifications set forth in the preceding subsection will be given both written and oral examinations:
(1) 
The written examination will be given to each candidate under the supervision of the Personnel Board with at least one member present at a time and place prescribed by the Chief of Police or designee.
[Amended 5-18-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-5]
(2) 
The oral examination will be given by the Chief of Police of the Town in a manner prescribed by him with the presence at such oral examination of at least one member of the Personnel Board.
C. 
A rating of a candidate will be made on the basis of points scored, with the following weights to apply:
(1) 
Basic requirements, including physical agility test. Maximum points allowed: 10. Responsibility for scoring: Chief of Police or designee.
[Amended 5-18-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-5]
(2) 
Written examination. Maximum points allowed: 45. Responsibility for scoring: Personnel Board.
(3) 
Oral examination. Maximum points allowed: 45. Responsibility for scoring: Chief of Police.
(4) 
Minimum acceptable score to qualify: 70.
[Amended 5-18-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-5]
D. 
Notwithstanding the above, the Police Department may utilize an alternate process by appointing qualified lateral transfers to the Police Department. A qualified lateral transfer shall possess all of the following qualifications:
[Added 7-20-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-8]
(1) 
United States citizenship.
(2) 
Minimum age: 18.
(3) 
Education: High school graduate or equivalent.
(4) 
Vision must be correctable to 20/20.
(5) 
A valid driver's license.
(6) 
Must be a certified police officer from any state and have the ability to obtain a certification from the Rhode Island Police Officers Commission of Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) pursuant to Rhode Island General Law.
(7) 
Must have the ability to pass a physical examination given by a physician, a drug screen, an oral examination, and a comprehensive background investigation.
(8) 
Upon appointment, must serve a one-year probationary period.
E. 
Candidates passing the qualifications set forth in the preceding subsection will be given an oral examination.
[Added 7-20-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-8]
(1) 
The oral examination will be given to each candidate at the direction of the Chief of Police or his/her designee in a manner prescribed by him/her with the presence at such oral examination of at least one member of the Personnel Board.
F. 
A rating of the candidate will be made on the basis of the points scored as determined by the Chief of Police.
[Added 7-20-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-8]
G. 
P.O.S.T. certified police officers electing to be considered as a lateral transfer, with up to two years of requisite police experience, shall be eligible for the pay rate and vacation schedule of a year two patrolman. P.O.S.T. certified police officers electing to be considered as a lateral transfer, who have three or more years of requisite police experience, shall be eligible for the pay rate and vacation schedule of a three-year patrolman. Time spent attending the Police Academy and time served as a probationary police officer shall not qualify as years of prior police experience when calculating years of previous police experience upon appointment.
[Added 11-16-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-13]
[Amended 5-18-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-5]
A. 
Vacancies will be advertised through electronic, print or other media sources no less than 15 days prior to the closing date for application.
B. 
The Personnel Director and the Chief of Police will be responsible for the preparing and placing of all such notices.
Within five days of the completion of the tests by the candidates, the Board will notify the Town Administrator and Chief of Police of the final standings of the applicants based on total points scored.
[Adopted as §§ 18-2-1 through 18-2-4 of the 1972 Code (Ch. 16, Art. III, of the 1990 Code of Ordinances)]
The purpose of this article is to establish procedures to be followed in qualifying candidates for promotion in the Town police force.
[Amended 3-19-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1]
Candidates for promotion will be accepted from personnel currently on the force who have satisfactorily completed at least one year's service as a patrolman on the force. To qualify, candidates must pass the qualifying tests:
A. 
Physical: rigid physical examinations as of the time of their applications. Such tests to be prescribed by the Town Health Officer.
B. 
Written examination: such written examination will be given to each candidate under supervision of the Personnel Board with all members present at a time and place prescribed by the Chairman of the Board.
C. 
Oral examination: such examination given by the Chief of Police of the Town in a manner prescribed by him. In addition to the Chief, one member of the Personnel Board must be present at the time of this test.
Ratings for promotion will be made on the basis of points scored with the following weights to apply:
A. 
Written examination: 75% (75 points maximum).
B. 
Oral examination: 25% (25 points maximum).
C. 
Minimum qualifying score, total of Subsections A and B: 75 points.
D. 
All such candidates passing the minimum qualifying score will be given one additional point score for each completed year of police force service on the Town Police Department, up to but not exceeding 12 years.
(1) 
The bonus points will be added to the total score achieved by the addition of the oral and written test scores, but only if the total achieved is no less than 75 points.
(2) 
The final score will be the total of the oral plus written plus bonus points.
Within five days of the completion of the tests by the candidates, the Board will notify the Chief of Police and the Town Administrator of the final standings of the applicants based on the procedures outlined above. The choice of the individual to fill the opening will be made as prescribed in the Charter.