[Amended 3-28-95 by Ord. No. 0-6-95[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: Prior ordinance history 0-2-77, 0-5-85,
0-30-87.
A.
There is hereby established a Police Department in the Township of
Winslow, County of Camden and State of New Jersey, pursuant to the
provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118, et seq. This chapter is intended
to ratify the existence and operation of the Police Department which
has historically operated within and served the Township of Winslow
and at the same time satisfy the statutory requirements of Titles
40A and 11A of the New Jersey Statutes Annotated.
B.
The mission and purpose of said Police Department is generally threefold;
to preserve life and property; to provide a general police service
for the residents of the Township of Winslow, County of Camden, State
of New Jersey; to enforce Federal, State, county and municipal laws,
statutes and ordinances; and as hereinafter may be more expressly
defined.
[Amended 2-27-18 by Ord. No. O-2018-002]
A.
Said Police Department shall consist of one (1) appropriate authority,
one (1) Chief of Police, one (1) Deputy Chief, and such Captains,
Lieutenants, Sergeants, police officers, special law enforcement officers,
and civilian employees as deemed necessary and appropriate by the
Mayor and Township Committee. The appropriate authority and/or the
Mayor and Township Committee may, from time to time, leave one or
more of the above positions vacant as they see fit. The express purpose
for naming these offices is to establish a statutory line of authority
from all police employees to higher elected authority. Whenever any
such office is intentionally left vacant, it will be deemed not to
exist and will be by-passed in the chain of command (e.g., if the
Mayor and Township Committee choose to no longer have Sergeants, then
police officers would answer directly to a Lieutenant in lieu thereof).
The appropriate authority, with the approval of the Mayor and Township
Committee, may thereafter recreate or resurrect an office that has
been so abolished by naming a person to fill said office. No person
may be appointed to the Winslow Township Police Department until they
have satisfied all statutory requirements and have complied with the
selection process and standards established by the rules and regulations
adopted by the appropriate authority to govern said police department.
B.
Jurisdiction.
(1)
Said police department shall come under the jurisdiction of the appropriate
authority, which position is hereby created pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.
Said appropriate authority shall be the Director of Public Safety.
The appropriate authority shall be responsible directly to the Mayor
and Township Committee. The Chief of Police shall be the head of the
police force and shall be directly responsible to the appropriate
authority for the efficiency and routine day to day operation of the
police department pursuant to policies established by said appropriate
authority. The appropriate authority is hereby vested with the duty
of and shall be responsible for the promulgation, adoption, updating,
and/or ratification of rules and regulations for police personnel
which shall be known as the rules and regulations for the Police Department
of the Township of Winslow, also known as the Code of Conduct. (N.J.S.A.
40A:14-118)
(2)
Hearing authority.
(a)
In the event of any disciplinary proceedings against any member
of the Police Department of the Township of Winslow below the rank
of Chief of Police, the Chief of Police or his/her designee shall
be the sole hearing officer and person in charge of all such proceedings.
The decision of the hearing officer shall be final and binding. The
right of appeal shall be pursuant to Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes
and Rules and Regulations promulgated by the Department of Personnel
under Title 4A of the New Jersey Administrative Code, all as amended
from time to time, or as may be provided under New Jersey State Law.
In the event of any inconsistency between this chapter and New Jersey
State Law, the latter shall control.
(b)
In the event of any disciplinary proceedings against the Chief
of Police of the Township of Winslow, the Mayor and Township Committee
or their designee shall be designated as the hearing authority and
in charge of all such proceedings. The decision of said hearing authority
shall be final and binding. The right of appeal shall be pursuant
to Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes and the Rules and Regulations
promulgated by the Department of Personnel under Title 4A of the New
Jersey Administrative Code, as amended from time to time, or as may
be provided under New Jersey State Law.
(c)
In the event the Chief of Police designates a hearing authority other than himself/herself pursuant to Subsection B(2)(a) above, and the designated hearing authority is to be an officer within the Winslow Township Police Department, only a person of greater rank than the person charged may be so designated for that purpose.
(3)
Charging authority.
(a)
In the event a Winslow Township Police Department officer is
to be charged in a disciplinary action and said employee is subordinate
to the rank of the Chief of Police, only the Chief of Police or his
designee may initiate such charges (N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118).
(b)
In the event the Chief of Police for the Township of Winslow
is to be charged in a disciplinary action against the Chief, the appropriate
authority or special counsel named by the appropriate authority to
act on his/her behalf shall be the charging authority. The appropriate
authority is hereby empowered to name a designated special counsel
to function as an alternative charging authority without prior Mayor
and Committee approval in an emergency. This is necessitated by the
statutory time lines involved in the charging process. Notwithstanding
this authority, at the earliest opportunity the appropriate authority
shall inform the Mayor and Township Committee of the action that he
has taken and obtain its approval.
(c)
Whenever any person, whether police officer, special counsel,
or the appropriate authority, serves in an investigative capacity
relevant to a Winslow Township Police Department disciplinary action,
he/she may not thereafter be designated as or serve as the hearing
authority in that same disciplinary action.
(4)
Where applicable, appeals of disciplinary proceedings shall be governed
by the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to Title 11A of
the New Jersey Statutes, and Title 4A of the New Jersey Administrative
Code.
C.
Appropriate authority. The appropriate authority shall, with the
approval and consent of the Mayor and Township Committee, appoint
such other special law enforcement officers as he/she or they may
deem necessary. They shall be a part of the Police Department established
herein and subject to all the laws, rules and regulations governing
the same. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-146.8 et seq., the term of said
appointment shall be at the discretion of the Mayor and Township Committee,
but in no event shall exceed one (1) year.
D.
Civilian employees. The appropriate authority shall, with the approval
and consent of the Mayor and Township Committee, appoint such civilian
members of the Police Department to serve in the services division
as he/she or they may deem necessary. Said members are to provide
dispatching services, clerical duties and logistics in support of
the police department.
E.
Graphic table of organization.
(1)
A graphic table of organization (T.O.), shall be maintained by the
Chief of Police to show the following:
(a)
The Winslow Township Police Department divisional structure.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The table for divisional structure, referred to herein, may be found as an attachment to this chapter.
(b)
The Winslow Township Police Department personnel structure.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: The table for personnel structure, referred to herein, may be found as an attachment to this chapter.
(2)
The express function of each position will be as defined within the
Rules and Regulations of the Winslow Township Police Department promulgated
by the appropriate authority, but is not necessarily limited to the
same.
F.
Monthly reports to the appropriate authority. The Chief of Police
shall submit monthly reports to the appropriate authority in such
form as shall be prescribed by said authority on the operation of
the force during the preceding month and make such other reports as
may be requested by said appropriate authority.
G.
Policies established by the appropriate authority. Pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40A:14-118, the Chief of Police shall be directly responsible to the
appropriate authority for the efficiency and routine day to day operations
thereof and that he shall pursuant to policies established by the
appropriate authority perform his assigned duties.
H.
Emergency directives. Nothing herein contained shall infringe upon
or limit the power or duty of the appropriate authority to act to
provide for the health, safety or welfare of the municipality in an
emergency situation through special emergency directives. (N.J.S.A.
40A:14-118)
A.
The appropriate authority pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118 is hereby authorized to update, adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for the governing of the Police Department and for the discipline of its members with a view to making the Police Department and all members thereof efficient, vigilant and effective in the service of the Township of Winslow. Said rules and regulations (Code of Conduct) will be in manual form and shall be called the "Rules and Regulations of the Police Department for the Township of Winslow" and shall govern the conduct of and be binding upon the entire membership of said Police Department, including the Chief and all subordinates as listed in Section 55-1 hereof. Said rules and regulations shall provide for penalties and forfeitures for violations thereof.
B.
The rules and regulations shall be distributed in manual form as
follows: A serialized copy will be issued to and signed for by each
employee of the Police Department for the Township of Winslow.
C.
All members and employees who are assigned a manual shall be responsible
for its maintenance and care. Said manuals shall remain the property
of the Township of Winslow, County of Camden, State of New Jersey,
and, upon separation from police service, each person is bound to
return same. Each person will be responsible for the security of his/her
manual, and loss of the same will constitute neglect of duty and will
result in disciplinary action. All manuals shall be kept current,
and supplementary pages concerning additions, revisions or amendments
shall be promptly and properly inserted. No Police Department operating
policies will be inserted as part of this manual unless and until
properly assimilated by the appropriate authority.
D.
Each police officer and each civilian employee is duty-bound to thoroughly
familiarize himself/herself with the provisions of the Police Manual.
Failure to comply shall be considered neglect of duty.
E.
In the event neglect of duty is charged against a member for failure
to observe the rules and regulations or Department procedures or orders,
ignorance of any provision of this manual will not be accepted as
an excuse.
