Bill Text: NJ S94 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Extends alternate route police training certification from three to five years.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee [S94 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S94-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Extends alternate route police training certification from three to five years.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning alternate route police training and amending P.L.1998, c.146.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1998, c.146 (C.52:17B-69.1) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. A person who does not hold a probationary or temporary appointment as a police officer, but who is seeking such an appointment may enroll in a police training course provided that person:
(1) meets the general qualifications for a police officer set forth in N.J.S.40A:14-122 and such other qualifications as the commission may deem appropriate; and
(2) applies to and is accepted by a commission approved school for admission to a police training course.
The person may be charged a fee by the commission or approved school, as the case may be, not exceeding that which the commission approved school charges a governmental employer for the training of an employee holding a probationary or temporary appointment.
An appointing authority may, at its discretion, reimburse a person who has completed a police training course pursuant to this section for all or part of the costs of training.
b. The commission, in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this section.
c. A person who is certified as having successfully completed a police training course pursuant to this section shall be eligible for appointment for five years from the date that the course was completed.
(cf: P.L.1998, c.146, s.2)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would extend the time period during which an alternate route trainee could be appointed to a police department from three years to five years.
Under current law, a person
who does not hold a temporary or
probationary appointment as a police officer is permitted to enroll in a police
training course at the person's expense. A person who successfully completes
the training course is eligible for appointment as a member of a county or
municipal police department or force.
Under Police Training Commission policy, a person who completes this alternate route program is certified for appointment to a police department for three years (with exemptions granted in certain cases). A trainee who does not receive an appointment within those three years must retake the course. Under this bill, the certification period would be automatically extended to five years.
According to the sponsor, current economic conditions can make it difficult for a person trained under the alternate route program to find employment with a police department during the three-year certification period. This bill would give these trainees more time to procure a job without the additional expense of having to retake the course.
