There is hereby created and reestablished in
the Borough of Northvale a police force, which shall be known as the
"Police Department of the Borough of Northvale," as an executive and
enforcement function of the Borough.
[Amended 12-28-1988 by Ord. No. 602-88; 8-10-1994 by Ord. No. 675-94; 3-8-2006 by Ord. No. 817-2006]
The Police Department shall be composed of the
following:
A.
One Chief.
B.
Up to one Captain.
C.
Up to one Lieutenant.
D.
Up to three Sergeants.
E.
As many patrolmen as needed, up to 10, as determined
by population, geographical and infrastructure considerations, property
development, tax impact, Borough finances, the necessity to maintain
the safety and peace for the residents of Northvale and other relevant
factors.
F.
In any event, the total number of police personnel,
including line officers and patrolmen, shall not exceed 15.
There shall be a Police Committee and Chairman
of the Police Committee composed of three members of the Council,
one of whom shall be designated as Chairperson. The members and Chairman
of the Police Committee shall be appointed in accordance with the
municipal bylaws adopted by the Mayor and Council at the annual reorganization
meeting held in January.
A.
The Mayor and Council will be the authority empowered
to adopt a Manual of Rules and Regulations for the government of the
police force and for the discipline of its members.
B.
The Police Chief shall formulate and propose for adoption
by resolution of the governing body such Manual of Rules and Regulations
and amendments thereto concerning the proper regulation of the Police
Department as he shall deem necessary, including but not limited to
provisions regarding professional conduct and appearance; Department
property and equipment; communications and correspondence; investigations;
arrests; detentions; firearms; judicial and investigative actions;
appearance and testimony; personnel regulations, including oath of
office and probationary period; driver's license requirements; surrender
of Department property; resignation; and disciplinary rules. Upon
review and discussion, the governing body shall, by resolution, either
approve the same in whole or in part or reject the same.
C.
The Police Chief shall have the right and responsibility
to issue such additional general and special orders as are necessary
for the efficient and effective operation of the Police Department.
The Chief of Police shall be the head of the
Police Department. The Chief shall be directly responsible for the
efficient and routine day-to-day operations of the Police Department
and be responsible to the Mayor and Council for his actions. The Chief
shall have the authority to:
A.
Administer and enforce rules and regulations and special
emergency directives for the disposition and discipline of the force
and its officers and personnel.
B.
Have, exercise and discharge the functions, powers
and duties of the force.
C.
Prescribe the duties and assignments of all subordinates
and other personnel.
D.
Delegate such of his authority as he may deem necessary
for the efficient operation of the force exercised under his direction
and supervision.
E.
Report at least monthly to the Mayor and Council in
such form as shall be prescribed by such authority on the operation
of the force during the preceding month, and make other reports as
may be requested by such authority.
The Chief of Police will prepare an Operations
Manual for the efficient administration of the force. All members
of the force will be provided with a copy of this Manual and the rules
and regulations of the Department.
A.
All applications for appointments to the Department
will be filed with the Chief of Police, in the form established by
the Police Committee. All applicants for appointment to the Department
will pass a written and physical examination, as promulgated by the
Chiefs of Police Association, or its equivalent, as well as a psychological
test given by an established professional testing service to be determined
by the Chief and the Police Committee.
B.
Upon completion of the testing procedure and upon
an evaluation of all applicants by the Police Chief and the Police
Committee, candidates for appointment will be nominated. The Chief
will forward, in writing, these nominations to the Mayor and Council.
C.
All nominations for appointments will be made by the
Mayor and confirmed by a majority vote of the Council. If the recommended
candidate shall be rejected, the Police Chief and the Police Committee
shall make additional recommendations.
D.
All promotions shall be by written recommendation
of the Police Chief, after review and approval by the Police Committee.
The Police Committee may require each nominee for promotion to take
a written, physical and/or psychological test.
E.
All nominations for promotion will be made by the
Mayor and confirmed by majority vote of the Council.
[Amended 3-8-2017 by Ord. No. 968-2017]
A.
General criteria. No person shall be appointed as
a member of the Police Department unless such person:
(1)
Is a citizen of the United States;
(2)
Is of good mental and bodily health sufficient to
satisfy the Board of Trustees of the Police and Fireman’s Retirement
System of New Jersey that he or she would be eligible for membership
in the retirement system;
(3)
Is able to read, write and speak the English language
intelligently;
(4)
Is of good moral character and free from conviction
of any crime constituting an indicatable offense or any crime or offense
involving moral turpitude;
(5)
Is a holder of a valid New Jersey driver’s license;
(6)
Has a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college
or university recognized by the United States, or four years of military
service with an honorable discharge, or two years’ military
service with a two-year associate's degree, or a valid New Jersey
Police Training Commission certificate with a two-year associate's
degree or a valid New Jersey SLEO II training certificate with a two-year
associate's degree.
(7)
Is not less than 18 years of age at the time of appointment.
B.
All applicants shall be evaluated upon the following
criteria:
Before entering upon the duties of his or her
office and within 10 days after his or her appointment, each member
of the Police Department shall take and subscribe to the following
oath: "I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of
the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey
and that I will faithfully, impartially and justly perform all the
duties as a member of the Police Department of the Borough of Northvale,
accordingly to the best of my ability and understanding, so help me
God."
All members of the Department shall obey the
orders of the Chief of Police and the rules and regulations of the
force.
No member of the Department shall be absent
from duty unless excused by the Chief of Police. After an officer
has reported sick and not able to report for duty, the officer must
not leave his or her house without first notifying the Chief of Police
or his designee. No member of the Police Department shall be paid
while absent from police duty because of illness, accident or other
disability unless it shall be promptly reported to the Chief of Police
or other member of the Department on duty at headquarters, in which
case such member of the Department may be required by the Chief of
Police to be examined by a physician, who shall determine whether
or not such member is fit for duty. Such required physician's examination
shall be paid for by the Department.
