N.Y. Civil Service Law § 58: Requirements for appointment of certain police officers

§ 58. Requirements for appointment of certain police officers. 1.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this law or any general, special

or local law to the contrary, no person shall be eligible for

appointment as a police officer of the department of environmental

conservation or of any police force or police department of any county,

city, town, village, housing authority or police district unless they

shall satisfy the following basic requirements:

(a) they are not less than twenty years of age as of the date of

appointment nor more than forty-three years of age as of the date when

the applicant takes the written examination, provided that the maximum

age requirement of forty-three years of age as set forth in this

paragraph shall not apply to eligible lists finalized pursuant to an

examination administered prior to May thirty-first, nineteen hundred

ninety-nine or a police officer in the department of environmental

conservation, provided, however, that:

(i) time spent on military duty or on terminal leave, not exceeding a

total of six years, shall be subtracted from the age of any applicant

who has passed their forty-third birthday as provided in subdivision

ten-a of section two hundred forty-three of the military law;

(ii) such maximum age requirement of forty-three years shall not apply

to any police officer as defined in subdivision thirty-four of section

1.20 of the criminal procedure law, who was continuously employed by the

Buffalo municipal housing authority between January first, two thousand

five and June thirtieth, two thousand five and who takes the next

written exam offered after the effective date of this subparagraph by

the city of Buffalo civil service commission for employment as a police

officer in the city of Buffalo police department, or June thirtieth, two

thousand six, whichever is later; and

(iii) such maximum age requirement of forty-three years shall not

apply to any police officer of any county, town, city or village police

force not otherwise provided for in this section if the eligible list

has been exhausted and there are no other eligible candidates; provided,

however, the police officer themselves are on the eligible list of such

county, town, city or village and meet all other requirements of merit

and fitness set forth by this chapter and do not exceed the maximum age

of forty-three;

(b) they are a high school graduate or a holder of a high school

equivalency diploma issued by an education department of any of the

states of the United States or a holder of a comparable diploma issued

by any commonwealth, territory or possession of the United States or by

the Canal Zone or a holder of a report from the United States armed

forces certifying their successful completion of the tests of general

educational development, high school level;

(c) they satisfy the height, weight, physical and psychological

fitness requirements prescribed by the municipal police training council

pursuant to the provisions of section eight hundred forty of the

executive law; and

(d) they are of good moral character as determined in accordance with

the background investigation standards of the municipal police training

council pursuant to the provisions of section eight hundred forty of the

executive law.

1-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other section of law,

general, special or local, should it be determined by the appointing

authority that a candidate does not meet the psychological fitness

requirements or lacks the good moral character standards set by the

municipal police training council pursuant to the provisions of section

eight hundred forty of the executive law, then the appointing authority

may request that the local civil service commissioner remove such

candidate from the eligible list. Upon receiving such request, the local

civil service commissioner shall comply forthwith.

1-b. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other section of law,

general, special or local, in political subdivisions maintaining a

police department serving a population of one hundred fifty thousand or

less, no person shall be eligible for appointment nor shall they be

appointed to any rank above the rank of police officer unless they have

been appointed a police officer from an eligible list established

according to merit and fitness as provided by section six of article

five of the constitution of the state of New York or has previously

served as a member of the New York state police.

1-c. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other section of law,

general, special or local, any political subdivision maintaining a

police department serving a population of one hundred fifty thousand or

less and with positions for more than four full-time police officers,

shall maintain the office of chief of police.

2. The provisions of this section shall not prevent any county, city,

town, village, housing authority, transit authority, police district or

the department of environmental conservation from setting more

restrictive requirements of eligibility for its police officers.

3. As used in this section, the term "police officer" means a police

officer in the department of environmental conservation, the state

university police, a member of the regional state park police or a

police force, police department, or other organization of a county,

city, town, village, housing authority, transit authority or police

district, who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime

and the enforcement of the general criminal laws of the state, but shall

not include any person serving as such solely by virtue of occupying any

other office or position, nor shall such term include a sheriff,

under-sheriff, commissioner of police, deputy or assistant commissioner

of police, chief of police, deputy or assistant chief of police or any

person having an equivalent title who is appointed or employed to

exercise equivalent supervisory authority.

4. (a) Any person who has received permanent appointment in the

competitive class of the civil service as a police officer of the

regional state park police, the state university of New York police, the

department of environmental conservation or any police force or police

department of any county, city, town, village, housing authority,

transit authority or police district shall be eligible to resign from

any police force or police department and, subject to such civil service

rules as may be applicable, shall be eligible for reinstatement in the

same police force or police department or in any other police force or

police department to which they were eligible for transfer, without

satisfying the age requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of

subdivision one of this section at the time of such reinstatement,

provided such reinstatement occurs within one year of the date of

resignation.

(b) (i) Legislative findings and declaration. The legislature hereby

finds and declares that it is frequently impracticable to ascertain

fitness for the positions of detective and investigator within various

police or sheriffs departments around the state by means of a

competitive examination due to the unique nature of the duties assigned

and the intangible personal qualities needed to perform such duties. The

legislature further finds that competitive examination has never been

employed in many police, correction or sheriffs departments, to

ascertain fitness for the positions of detective and investigator within

such police, correction or sheriffs departments; such fitness has always

been determined by evaluation of the capabilities of an individual (who

has in any case received permanent appointment to the position of police

officer, correction officer of any rank or deputy sheriff) by

supervisory personnel. The legislature further finds that an individual

who performs in an investigatory position in a manner sufficiently

satisfactory to the appropriate supervisors to hold such an assignment

for a period of eighteen months, has demonstrated fitness for the

position of detective or investigator within such police, correction or

sheriffs department at least as sufficiently as could be ascertained by

means of a competitive examination.

(ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any jurisdiction,

other than a city with a population of one million or more or the state

department of corrections and community supervision, which does not

administer examinations for designation to detective or investigator,

any person who has received permanent appointment to the position of

police officer, correction officer of any rank or deputy sheriff and is

temporarily assigned to perform the duties of detective or investigator

shall, whenever such assignment to the duties of a detective or

investigator exceeds eighteen months, be permanently designated as a

detective or investigator and receive the compensation ordinarily paid

to persons in such designation.

(iii) Nothing contained in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph shall

be construed to limit any jurisdiction's ability to administer

examinations for appointment to the positions of detective and

investigator, provided however that any person temporarily assigned to

perform the duties of detective or investigator within the period

commencing September twenty-third, nineteen hundred ninety-three through

and including the date upon which this paragraph shall have become a law

and who has not been designated as a detective or investigator and who

has not been subject to an examination for which there is a certified

eligible list, shall be permanently designated as a detective or

investigator whenever such assignment to the duties of detective or

investigator exceeds eighteen months.

(iv) Detectives and investigators designated since September

twenty-third, nineteen hundred ninety and prior to February

twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred ninety-five by any state, county, town,

village or city (other than a city with a population of one million or

more or the state department of corrections and community supervision)

police, correction or sheriffs department, pursuant to the provisions of

this paragraph in effect during such period, who continue to serve in

such positions, shall retain their detective or investigator status

without any right to retroactive financial entitlement.

5. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the investigatory

personnel of the office of the district attorney in any county,

including any county within the city of New York.

6. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any individual

holding the position of deputy sheriff in Westchester county prior to

July first, nineteen hundred seventy-nine upon the transfer of such

individual to service in the Westchester county department of public

safety services.