Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) Prior
to the acceptance of a trainee into a basic course, the chief law enforcement
officer or chief executive officer of the employing law enforcement unit shall
certify by completing a trainee record card issued by the Commission that:
1. With respect to police officers as defined by
this chapter, the appointing authority has complied with the provisions of
52:17B-68.1 and 69 and 18A:6-4.4
including, but not limited to, the following:
i.
The individual has received a probationary appointment; and
ii. The individual has been granted a leave of
absence with pay during the period of the police training course;
2. With respect to special law
enforcement officers, the local unit has complied with the provisions of
40A:14-146.8 et seq. concerning the
appointment of the individual;
3. The
employing law enforcement agency has fingerprinted the individual and sent copies of
the fingerprints to the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation in order to ascertain whether the individual has been convicted of an
offense which would disqualify him or her from appointment as a police officer. The
results obtained from the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation shall be made known to the appointing authority;
4. The employing law enforcement agency has
conducted a pre-employment or background investigation of the individual to
ascertain his or her character, fitness and eligibility to be permanently appointed
as a police officer. The results of the pre-employment or background investigation
shall be made known to the appointing authority; and
5. The individual has undergone a medical
examination by a licensed physician to determine if the individual is medically fit
to undergo training. The physician shall state, on a form prescribed by the
Commission, whether the individual is medically fit to undergo the training for
which the individual is enrolled.
(b) A potential trainee shall not be admitted into
the following basic courses, unless the potential trainee has successfully completed
both the pre-academy fitness requirement and the pre-academy psychological
requirement prior to the orientation day for the course to which the potential
trainee seeks admission:
1. Basic Course for Police
Officers (including Alternate Route);
2.
Basic Course for Special Law Enforcement Officers (Class II);
3. Basic Course for State Correctional Police
Officers;
4. Basic Course for County
Correctional Police Officers;
5. Basic
Course for Investigators;
6. Basic
Course for Juvenile Corrections Officers; and
7. Basic Course for Humane Law Enforcement
Officers.
(c) Neither the
pre-academy fitness requirement nor the pre-academy psychological requirement may be
waived.
(d) The administration of
pre-academy fitness requirement is, as follows:
1.
In order to participate in the pre-academy fitness requirement, a potential trainee
must present proof of medical clearance certified by a licensed physician no earlier
than 30 days prior to the date of the test, on a form issued by the Police Training
Commission (PTC).
2. The site and timing
of the pre-academy fitness requirement shall be determined by the academy director
with approval from the PTC staff.
3. An
instructor designated by the academy director will conduct the pre-academy fitness
requirement up to 12 weeks prior to the commencement of the course to which the
potential trainee seeks admission, but no less than three weeks prior to the
commencement of the course. A potential trainee must pass the pre-academy fitness
requirement prior to the commencement of any class in which the trainee seeks
admission.
4. A trainee must
successfully complete all five components of the pre-academy fitness requirement, as
follows:
i. A vertical jump of 15 inches or
more;
ii. 28 sit-ups in one minute or
less;
iii. A 300-meter run in 70.1
seconds or less;
iv. 24 push-ups in one
minute or less; and
v. A 1.5-mile run in
15 minutes and 55 seconds or less.
5. There shall be a rest in between each component
of the pre-academy fitness requirement that shall be no less than those mandated by
Directive 4-2016.
6. The pre-academy
fitness requirement shall be conducted, in accordance with the PTC Physical
Conditioning Directive.
7. All
pre-academy fitness requirement tests shall be conducted within one continuous
eight-hour period.
8. All running events
in the pre-academy fitness requirement shall be conducted on a level running track
or roadway previously approved by the PTC staff.
9. All remaining events shall take place on a
level surface previously approved by the PTC staff.
10. During both the sit-up and push-up components
of the pre-academy physical requirement, the designated instructor shall verbally
notify the trainee of each successful repetition completed (that is, "one complete,
two complete, three complete").
11. A
potential trainee is required to successfully complete all five components of the
pre-academy fitness requirement before each course to which the potential trainee
seeks admission.
12. Retesting shall be,
as follows:
i. Academy directors shall schedule a
retest date for trainees who fail the initial pre-academy fitness requirement. The
retest should be scheduled, when practicable, at least three weeks after the
trainee's initial pre-academy test, but in any event, must be completed the day
before the trainee begins their course. The trainee is allowed one opportunity to
retest before the start of the academy. All trainees who fail the initial
pre-academy fitness requirement must be retested before the start of the course to
which they seek admission.
ii. Potential
trainees must take and pass the entire test on the alternate test date. Previous
passing results from any component shall not be counted toward any retest.
(e) Pre-academy
psychological requirements, are as follows:
1. The
pre-academy psychological requirement shall include a psychological examination by a
licensed psychologist to determine whether the potential trainee is psychologically
fit to perform the duties of the title that the potential trainee has been
appointed.
2. The psychological
examination shall include:
i. A written personality
examination, such as NEO-PI-R, the Inwald Personality Inventory, or such other
functionally equivalent examination; and
ii. A psychological evaluation conducted by a
licensed psychologist no more than 12 months prior to orientation day for the class
that the potential trainee seeks admission.
3. The licensed psychologist shall state, on a
form prescribed by the PTC, whether the individual is psychologically fit to
effectively perform the duties of the title that the individual has been
appointed.
4. Only those individuals
found to be psychologically fit to effectively perform the duties of the title that
they have been appointed to may be admitted to any of the courses listed at (b)
above.
5. The employer must provide
certification of psychological fitness to the academy director prior to the
orientation day for the course that the potential trainee seeks admission on a form
prescribed by the PTC.
(f)
Appeals by potential trainees shall be, as follows:
1. A potential trainee may appeal a designated
instructor's determination that the potential trainee has failed one or more
components of the pre-academy fitness requirement.
2. An appeal pursuant to this subsection will be
sent to the PTC, and state, with particularity, the factual basis for the potential
trainee's appeal.
(g) For
each potential trainee, prior to admission to any academy for any course listed at
(b) above, the academy director must complete and submit to PTC staff, a package
that includes the following:
1. A PTC-prescribed
form that includes the following information:
i.
Certification that the potential trainee has successfully met, or exceeded, the
minimum score requirements of all five components of the pre-academy fitness
requirement;
ii. The potential trainee's
score for each of the five components of the pre-academy fitness requirement;
and
iii. Certification that the
potential trainee has successfully passed the pre-academy psychological requirement
as set forth at (e) above;
2.
A certification by a licensed physician that the potential recruit is medically
cleared to participate in the course that the potential recruit seeks admission;
and
3. A certification by a licensed
psychologist that the potential recruit is psychologically fit to effectively
perform the duties of the title that the potential recruit has been
appointed.
(h) The academy
director shall submit the package as set forth at (g) above to the PTC staff no
later than 15 working days after the commencement of the course that the trainee is
enrolled in.
(i) Academy directors are
expressly forbidden from allowing any trainee who has not successfully met, or
exceeded, the minimum score of each component of the pre-academy fitness requirement
and who has not also successfully passed the pre-academy psychological requirement
and provided a certification by a licensed physician that the recruit is medically
cleared to participate in the course, to participate in any course listed at (b)
above. Failure to comply with the provisions of this subsection may, in the
discretion of the PTC, result in suspension or revocation of the academy's
credentials, as determined on a case-by-case basis.
(j) In addition to the required certifications
listed at (a) above, the chief law enforcement officer or chief executive officer
must certify on a form provided by the Commission, that the applicant completed
pre-employment drug testing and received negative results from the New Jersey State
Toxicology Laboratory in accordance with the Attorney General's Law Enforcement Drug
Testing Policy. The Commission certification form and the lab results are to be
provided to the academy, along with the trainee record card before the trainee can
be accepted into a basic course.
