Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) As required
under 43:16A-1(2)(a)(iii),
permanent, full-time police officers are required to successfully complete the
training requirement prescribed under
52:17B-66 et seq., (Police
Training Commission (PTC)) or proof of comparable training requirements as
determined by the Board of Trustees.
1. For
positions under the statutory authority of the PTC, all police applicants must
receive certification of successful completion of the basic training course for
municipal police officers, which includes the physical conditioning program and
the medical certification for participation in the training approved by the PTC
pursuant to
52:17B-66 et seq.
2. For positions that are not under the
statutory authority of the PTC, all police applicants are required to complete
comparable training to that prescribed by the PTC for municipal police
officers, which includes the physical conditioning program and the medical
certification for participation in the training. The employer must certify to
the Division of the completion of the aforementioned training.
3. An applicant may be exempt from some parts
of the basic training course if the applicant has successfully completed police
training conducted by a Federal, State or county agency if the requirements are
substantially equivalent to the requirements of a municipal police officer and
approved by the PTC.
i. For those positions
under the statutory authority of the PTC, the applicant must receive
certification from the PTC regarding such exemption and successfully complete
the remaining course work at an approved PTC school in New Jersey.
ii. For those positions not under the
statutory authority of the PTC, in order for the Division to consider whether
the applicant qualifies under the comparable police training rule, the
applicant must submit the following documents to the Division for review of the
authorized training credit:
(1) A letter of
waiver request;
(2) A transcript of
the training courses from the prior Federal, State or county agency, including
the dates of completion for each course; and
(3) The course description of each and every
police training course that the police applicant wishes to use for an
exemption.
4.
Comparable training for out-of-State police training courses cannot be more
than three years from the date the police applicant graduated from the police
academy.
5. Comparable training for
in-State police training courses cannot be more than three years from the date
the police applicant separated service with the former New Jersey employer to
the date of the employment with the current New Jersey employer.
6. The applicant must successfully complete
the remaining course work at either an approved PTC school in New Jersey or a
school that offers comparable training to that prescribed by the PTC as set
forth in (a)2 above. The employer must certify to the Division that such basic
training course was satisfactorily completed.
(b) As required under
N.J.S.A.
43:16A-1(2)(b), permanent,
full-time firefighters are subject to the training and physical and mental
fitness requirements applicable to the position of municipal firefighter
established by the agency authorized to establish these requirements on a
Statewide basis, or comparable training and physical and mental fitness
requirements, as determined by the Board, before PFRS enrollment may occur. The
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the only agency
authorized to establish the training requirements and qualifications for State
Forest Fire Service firefighters in the DEP's Division of Parks and Forestry,
while the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is the only agency
authorized to establish the municipal firefighter training and certification
standards cited in
N.J.S.A.
43:16A-1(2)(b).
1. Permanent, full-time firefighters whose
training and certification standards are established by the Division of Fire
Safety's Office of Training and Certification in the DCA, are required to
successfully complete the Firefighter 1 certification prescribed under
N.J.A.C.
5:73-4.2, 4.3, and 4.4, as a condition of
enrollment in the PFRS. Comparable fire service training will be evaluated on
the basis of the guidelines established by the Division of Fire Safety's Office
of Training and Certification in the DCA.
2. State Forest Fire Service firefighters
(also referred to as wildland and forestland firefighters at
N.J.A.C.
5:73-1.3(a)1) , whose titles
and training fall under the authority of the DEP in the Division of Parks and
Forestry's State Forest Fire Service, are required to complete mandatory
training for fire service in accordance with
N.J.S.A.
13:9-7.1.
i.
Job descriptions, duties, and training standards for wildland and forestland
firefighters are determined, regulated, and implemented by the DEP's State
Forest Fire Service in accordance with standards of the United States Forest
Service and of nationally recognized forest fire service associations or
organizations.
ii. Forest Fire
Service firefighters will be enrolled in the PFRS based on the DEP's
confirmation that the applicant has completed the established fire service
training standards, which include the training standards and qualifications of
the National Wildfire Coordinating Group and the National Interagency Incident
Management System.
