N.Y. Executive Law § 840: Functions, powers and duties of council

§ 840. Functions, powers and duties of council. 1. The council may

recommend to the governor rules and regulations with respect to:

(a) The approval, or revocation thereof, of police training schools

administered by municipalities;

(b) Minimum courses of study, attendance requirements, and equipment

and facilities to be required at approved municipal police training

schools;

(c) Minimum qualifications for instructors at approved police training

schools;

(d) The requirements of minimum basic training which police officers

appointed to probationary terms shall complete before being eligible for

permanent appointment, and the time within which such basic training

must be completed following such appointment to a probationary term;

(e) The requirements of minimum basic training which police officers

not appointed for probationary terms but appointed on other than a

permanent basis shall complete in order to be eligible for continued

employment or permanent appointment, and the time within which such

basic training must be completed following such appointment on a

non-permanent basis;

(f) The requirements of minimum basic training which peace officers

must complete before being eligible for certification as peace officers,

pursuant to section 2.30 of the criminal procedure law;

(g) Categories or classifications of advanced in-service training

programs and minimum courses of study and attendance requirements with

respect to such categories or classifications; and

(i) The establishment, in cooperation with the division of state

police, of a formalized consumer product tampering training program for

all law enforcement personnel.

(j) (1) Development, maintenance and dissemination of written policies

and procedures pursuant to title six of article six of the social

services law and applicable provisions of article ten of the family

court act, regarding the mandatory reporting of child abuse or neglect,

reporting procedures and obligations of persons required to report,

provisions for taking a child into protective custody, mandatory

reporting of deaths, immunity from liability, penalties for failure to

report and obligations for the provision of services and procedures

necessary to safeguard the life or health of the child; (2)

establishment and implementation on an ongoing basis, of a training

program for all current and new police officers regarding the policies

and procedures established pursuant to this paragraph; and (3)

establishment of a training program for police officers whose main

responsibilities are juveniles and the laws pertaining thereto,

including children under twelve years of age who do not fall under the

definition of juvenile delinquent pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of

paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section 301.2 of the family court

act and whose behavior, but for their age would bring them within the

jurisdiction of the family court pursuant to article three of the family

court act, which training program shall be successfully completed before

such officers are accredited pursuant to section eight hundred

forty-six-h of this chapter.

(k) Development, maintenance and dissemination, in consultation with

the department of agriculture and markets, of written policies and

procedures pursuant to animal cruelty and protection laws, including,

but not limited to, article twenty-six of the agriculture and markets

law, section 352.3 of the family court act as it applies to companion

animals, and applicable provisions of the penal law, regarding the

investigation and prevention of any act of cruelty to animals. The

council shall make provisions in such policies and procedures for the

education and training in enforcement of such animal cruelty and

protection laws.

(l) Exemptions from particular provisions of this article in the case

of peace officers appointed by the superintendent of state police if in

its opinion the standards of peace officer training provided by the

division of state police exceed those established pursuant to this

article.

(m) Establishment and implementation on an ongoing basis, of a

training program for all current and new police officers and peace

officers regarding the policies and procedures established pursuant to

paragraph (k) of this subdivision.

2. The council shall promulgate, and may from time to time amend, such

rules and regulations prescribing height, weight, physical fitness and

psychological requirements for eligibility of persons for provisional or

permanent appointment in the competitive class of the civil service as

police officers of any county, city, town, village or police district as

it deems necessary and proper for the efficient performance of police

duties.

2-a. The council, in consultation with the state commission of

correction, shall promulgate rules and regulations with respect to:

(a) The approval, or revocation thereof, of basic and other

correctional training programs administered by municipalities;

(b) Minimum courses of study, attendance requirements, and equipment

and facilities to be required at approved basic and other correctional

training programs;

(c) Minimum qualifications for instructors at approved basic and other

correctional training programs; and

(d) The requirements of a minimum basic correctional training program

required by subdivision nine of section eight hundred thirty-seven-a of

this article.

2-b. The council shall promulgate, and may from time to time amend,

such rules and regulations concerning background investigations for

eligibility of persons for provisional or permanent appointment in the

competitive class of the civil service as police officers of any county,

city, town, village or police district as it deems necessary and proper

for the efficient performance of police duties, which shall be

incorporated by the law enforcement agency accreditation council as part

of the certification process in paragraph (d) of subdivision one of

section eight hundred forty-six-h of this chapter.

3. The council shall, in addition: (a) Consult with, advise and make

recommendations to the commissioner with respect to the exercise of his

or her functions, powers and duties as set forth in section eight

hundred forty-one of this article;

(b) Recommend studies, surveys and reports to be made by the

commissioner regarding the carrying out of the objectives and purposes

of this section;

(c) Visit and inspect any police training school and correctional

training programs approved by the commissioner or for which application

for such approval has been made;

(d) Make recommendations, from time to time, to the commissioner, the

governor and the legislature, regarding the carrying out of the purposes

of this section;

(e) Perform such other acts as may be necessary or appropriate to

carry out the functions of the council;

(f) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the state

office for the prevention of domestic violence, written policies and

procedures consistent with article eight of the family court act and

applicable provisions of the criminal procedure and domestic relations

laws, regarding the investigation of and intervention by new and veteran

police officers in incidents of family offenses. Such policies and

procedures shall make provisions for education and training in the

interpretation and enforcement of New York's family offense laws,

including but not limited to:

(1) intake and recording of victim statements, and the prompt

translation of such statements if made in a language other than English,

in accordance with subparagraph three of this paragraph, on a

standardized "domestic violence incident report form" promulgated by the

division of criminal justice services in consultation with the

superintendent of state police, representatives of local police forces

and the state office for the prevention of domestic violence, and the

investigation thereof so as to ascertain whether a crime has been

committed against the victim by a member of the victim's family or

household as such terms are defined in section eight hundred twelve of

the family court act and section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law;

and

(2) the need for immediate intervention in family offenses including

the arrest and detention of alleged offenders, pursuant to subdivision

four of section 140.10 of the criminal procedure law, and notifying

victims of their rights, in their native language, if identified as

other than English, in accordance with subparagraph three of this

paragraph, including but not limited to immediately providing the victim

with the written notice required in subdivision six of section 530.11 of

the criminal procedure law and subdivision five of section eight hundred

twelve of the family court act;

(3) determine, in consultation with the superintendent of state police

and the office for the prevention of domestic violence, the languages in

which such translation required by subparagraph one of this paragraph,

and the notification required by subparagraph two of this paragraph,

shall be provided. Such determination shall be based on the size of the

New York state population that speaks each language and any other

relevant factor. Such written notice required pursuant to subparagraph

two of this paragraph shall be made available to all local law

enforcement agencies throughout the state. Nothing in this paragraph

shall prevent the council from using the determinations made by the

superintendent of state police pursuant to subdivision (c) of section

two hundred fourteen-b of this chapter;

(f-1) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the

office of temporary and disability assistance and the division of

criminal justice services, written policies and procedures regarding

human trafficking victims. Such policies and procedures shall include,

but not be limited to the following: (1) the identification of potential

victims of human trafficking, as defined under section four hundred

eighty-three-aa of the social services law; and (2) information and/or

referral to appropriate social and legal services for victims of human

trafficking in accordance with section four hundred eighty-three-bb of

the social services law;

(f-2) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the

office of children and family services, written policies and procedures

regarding child-sensitive arrest practices. Such policies and procedures

shall address such situations in which the parent, guardian, or other

person legally charged with the care or custody of a child less than

eighteen years old is arrested. Such policies and procedures shall

include, but not be limited to:

(1) procedures regarding identification and documentation of whether

an arrestee is the parent, guardian or person legally charged with the

care or custody of a child;

(2) procedures to allow for the arrangement of temporary care for the

child of an arrested parent, guardian or other person legally charged

with the care or custody of such child, which may include allowing the

arrested parent, guardian or other person legally charged with the care

or custody of such child to place additional phone calls to arrange for

child care;

(3) appropriate actions that will allow law enforcement to assist in

minimizing the impact of the emotional harm caused by witnessing such

arrests; and

(4) information on the availability of access to community-based

providers of crises intervention, child protection and other supportive

resources that could aid the child of an arrested parent, guardian or

other person legally charged with the care or custody of such child;

(g) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the state

division of human rights and the state civil service department, written

policies and procedures to enhance police and correctional officer

recruitment efforts and to increase police and correctional officer

awareness of racial, ethnic, religious and gender differences, and other

diversity issues, in communities served by such police and in

correctional facilities;

(h) Consult with the state commission of correction regarding

correctional training programs; and

(i) Develop, maintain and disseminate written policies and procedures

and educational materials regarding the availability of and procedure

for filing extreme risk protection orders under article sixty-three-A of

the civil practice law and rules, including the requirements for police

officers under section six thousand forty-one of such article,

appropriately instruct any agency that employs police or peace officers

regarding article sixty-three-A of the civil practice law and rules.

4. The council shall, in addition:

(a) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with rape

crisis centers experienced in assisting victims in this state, written

policies and procedures consistent with applicable provisions of the

family court act, domestic relations law, criminal procedure law and the

penal law, regarding the investigation of and intervention by new and

veteran police officers in crimes involving sexual assault. Such

policies and procedures shall make provisions for education and training

of new and veteran police officers in the investigation and enforcement

of crimes involving sexual assault under state law, including but not

limited to:

(1) techniques for interviewing sexual assault victims,

(2) fair treatment standards for crime victims pursuant to article

twenty-three of this chapter,

(3) evidence gathering and evidence preservation, and

(4) dissemination of information concerning availability of local

services for the victims of such crimes; and

(b) Recommend to the governor, rules and regulations with respect to

establishment and implementation on an ongoing basis of a training

program for all current and new police officers regarding the policies

and procedures established pursuant to this subdivision, along with

recommendations for periodic retraining of police officers.

(c) Disseminate the written policies and procedures promulgated in

accordance with subdivision twenty-one of section eight hundred

thirty-seven of this article to all police departments in this state and

implement a training program for all current and new police officers

regarding the policies and procedures established pursuant to such

subdivision.

(d)(1) Establish and regularly update a model law enforcement use of

force policy suitable for adoption by any agency that employs police or

peace officers.

(2) The model law enforcement use of force policy shall include, but

is not limited to:

(i) information on current law as it relates to the use of force by

police and peace officers;

(ii) guidelines regarding when use of force is permitted;

(iii) requirements for documenting use of force;

(iv) procedures for investigating use of force incidents;

(v) guidelines regarding excessive use of force including duty to

intervene, reporting, and timely medical treatment for injured persons;

(vi) standards for failure to adhere to use of force guidelines;

(vii) training mandates on use of force, conflict prevention, conflict

resolution and negotiation, de-escalation techniques and strategies,

including, but not limited to, interacting with persons presenting in an

agitated condition; and

(viii) prohibited uses of force.

(3) The person in charge of every local police department, local

correctional facility, each county sheriff, the superintendent of the

division of the state police, the commissioner of the department of

corrections and community supervision, and the person in charge of every

agency that employs a peace officer in this state shall adopt and

implement a use of force policy in the agency of which they are in

charge. Such use of force policy shall be consistent with the model law

enforcement use of force policy established pursuant to this

subdivision, except that such departments, county sheriffs,

superintendent, commissioner and agencies that employ a peace officer

may impose further and additional restrictions on the use of force, in

such use of force policy or otherwise.

(4) The model law enforcement use of force policy and every use of

force policy established pursuant to subparagraph three of this

paragraph shall be a public document, and shall be made available

without charge to any member of the public promptly upon request. Each

such current use of force policy shall be conspicuously posted on the

public website of the agency that adopted it. Revisions to such use of

force policies shall be updated on the agency's public website within

seventy-two hours of approval of any amendment.

5. The council shall, in addition:

(a) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the

commissioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities,

written policies and procedures consistent with section 13.43 of the

mental hygiene law, regarding the handling of emergency situations

involving individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other

developmental disabilities. Such policies and procedures shall make

provisions for the education and training of new and veteran police

officers on the handling of emergency situations involving individuals

with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities,

including but not limited to training on the appropriate use of force on

such individuals, as well as training on appropriate techniques for

deescalating encounters with such individuals that is consistent with

such individual's safety; and

(b) Recommend to the governor, rules and regulations with respect to

the establishment and implementation on an ongoing basis of a training

program for all current and new police officers regarding the policies

and procedures established pursuant to this subdivision, along with

recommendations for periodic retraining of police officers.

6. The council shall, in addition:

(a) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the

division of human rights and the hate crime task force established

pursuant to section two hundred sixteen of this chapter, written

policies and procedures regarding the recognition of and response to

hate crimes, as defined in article four hundred eighty-five of the penal

law. Such policies and procedures shall make provisions for the

education and training of new and veteran police officers on the

recognition of and response to hate crimes; and

(b) Recommend to the governor, rules and regulations with respect to

the establishment and implementation on an ongoing basis of a training

program for all current and new police officers regarding the policies

and procedures established pursuant to this subdivision, along with

recommendations for periodic retraining of police officers. Such

recommended rules and recommendations shall also be submitted to the

temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly.

7. The council shall, in addition:

(a) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in collaboration with the

office of victim services, a model law enforcement death notification

policy setting forth recommended policies and procedures regarding

in-person death notifications to a deceased individual's next of kin.

Such policies and procedures shall make provisions for education and

training of current and new police officers in the planning,

preparation, and delivery of in-person death notifications, including

but not limited to, policies and procedures for:

(i) the identification of the deceased individual, the collection of

accurate information regarding the deceased individual, and the

identification of the deceased individual's next of kin; and

(ii) the actual delivery of in-person death notifications to the

deceased's next of kin within twenty-four hours following the

identification of such individual; provided, however, such policies and

procedures shall provide that, in the event that an in-person death

notification cannot be provided to the deceased individual's next of kin

within such timeframe, the failure or delay of such notification shall

be documented and such notification shall instead be made as soon as

practicable; and

(iii) providing information to the deceased individual's next of kin

regarding the existence of programs and support services available to

them.

(b) Recommend to the governor rules and regulations with respect to

the establishment and implementation on an ongoing basis of a training

program for all current and new police officers regarding the policies

and procedures established pursuant to this subdivision, along with

recommendations for periodic retraining of police officers.

(c) Disseminate the model law enforcement death notification policy

promulgated in accordance with this subdivision to all police

departments in this state and develop a model training program for all

current and new police officers regarding the policies and procedures

established pursuant to such subdivision.

* 8. The council shall, in addition:

(a) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the

commissioner of the office of mental health, written policies and

procedures regarding the handling of situations involving individuals

who appear to be mentally ill and are conducting themselves in a manner

which is likely to result in serious harm to the person or others. Such

policies and procedures shall make provisions for the education and

training of new and veteran police officers. Such training and education

shall focus on appropriate recognition and response techniques for

handling emergency situations involving individuals with mental illness

including, but not limited to, how to de-escalate a situation involving

an individual who may be experiencing a mental health crisis while

minimizing the use of force and identifying alternatives to the criminal

justice system; and

(b) Recommend to the division, rules and regulations establishing and

implementing a required training program for all current and new police

officers regarding the policies and procedures established pursuant to

this subdivision, along with recommendations for periodic retraining of

police officers. Such required training for current officers shall be

completed within thirty-six months of the effective date of this

subdivision; provided however it shall be completed within twenty-four

months of the effective date of this subdivision in a city with a

population of one million or more. The division shall review such

recommendations and promulgate regulations consistent with this

subdivision.

* NB There are 2 sb 8's

* 8. The council shall promulgate rules and regulations requiring

training and instruction for all police officers with respect to crimes

involving sexual assault. Such training and instruction, which shall be

designed and presented in consultation with the rape crisis centers

experienced in assisting victims in this state, shall include, but not

be limited to understanding rape and sexual abuse trauma and

psychological issues confronted by such crime victims, common attributes

of offenders, fair treatment standards for crime victims pursuant to

article twenty-three of this chapter, evidence gathering and

preservation issues, interview techniques and information concerning the

availability of local services for the victims of such crimes. All new

officers shall receive such training and instruction, as part of the

basic curriculum at the state police academy or at municipal police

academies, as applicable. The council shall promulgate such rules and

regulations as it deems necessary concerning periodic retraining of

police officers regarding crimes involving sexual assault.

* NB Effective December 12, 2026

* NB There are 2 sb 8's