[Amended 2-28-2000 by Ord. No. 4-2000]
A. Qualifications for appointment.
(1) Except as otherwise provided by law or elsewhere in this article, any person appointed as a police officer or a special officer shall:
(a) Be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the State of New Jersey.
(b) Be of sound body and of good health sufficient to satisfy the Board of Trustees of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey as to eligibility for the membership in the retirement system.
(c) Be able to read, write and speak the English language well and intelligently.
(d) Not have been convicted of any violations of laws of the State of New Jersey or the United States, except minor traffic offenses, nor shall have been convicted of any crime or offense involving moral turpitude.
(e) Provide proof of a high school diploma or an approved high school equivalency certificate.
(f) Exhibit a valid New Jersey driver's license.
(g) Not have made false statements of a material fact or practiced or attempted to practice any deception or fraud in the application, in tests or in securing any appointment herein.
(2) No person shall be appointed as a member of the Police Division unless he/she shall have:
(a) Filed a written application, on the form prescribed by the Town of Hammonton and Hammonton Police Department, with supporting documents as requested.
(b) Satisfactorily pass both a written and physical examination as prescribed by the Town of Hammonton and Hammonton Police Department.
(c) Satisfactorily pass a medical examination and psychological examination conducted by a medical doctor and a psychologist approved by the Town.
(d) Submitted to a complete background investigation with results satisfactory to the Chief of Police.
(3) Every member of the Police Division, prior to entering upon the performance of duties in the office or position of the Chief of Police, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant, police officer or special officer, shall take and subscribe to an oath of affirmation to truly, faithfully and impartially execute his/her duties to the best of his/her skill and understanding. Such oath or affirmation shall be filed with the Clerk/Administrator of the Town of Hammonton within 10 days after such appointment. Further, all proper employment forms must be completed and filed prior to entering upon such duties.
B. Appointment procedure. The procedure which shall be followed for every appointment to the Department is as follows:
(1) Every candidate must successfully pass a civil service examination conducted by the State of New Jersey.
(2) Every candidate seeking appointment to the Department must appear upon the eligibility list provided by the New Jersey Department of Civil Service when requested by the Town of Hammonton.
(3) Upon eligibility determination, each candidate seeking appointment shall be required to appear for an initial oral interview conducted by the Chief of Police or his/her designee.
(4) Upon completion of the initial interview, each candidate shall complete a comprehensive application and cooperate with the assigned detective of the Hammonton Police Department as to all aspects of the application including background investigations.
(5) Once an application has been deemed complete by the detective completing the background investigation and all information required has been received, each applicant shall submit to a panel interview comprised of the following persons: Mayor, Town Administrator, Council Committee for Law and Order, Chief of Police, Deputy Chief of Police and the Detective assigned to the subject applicant who conducted the background investigations.
(6) The Interview Committee shall render a recommendation to the Chief of Police who shall then tender a formal recommendation to Mayor and Council for appointment consideration.
C. Exemption from Civil Service Examination. The Town may hire a candidate for an entry- level law enforcement position who has not taken a civil service examination, provided the candidate has successfully completed a full Basic Course for Police Officers training course at a school approved and authorized by the New Jersey Police Training commission. Nothing in this § 51-2(C) shall be interpreted or construed to require the Town to fill an entry-level law enforcement position with a candidate that has not completed a civil service examination.
[Added 6-28-2021 by Ord. No. 009-2021]
D. Police academy: responsibility for payment. Except as otherwise provided by law or elsewhere in this chapter, any persons appointed as a police office or a special officer is required to attend an authorized policy academy selected by the Town of Hammonton. The cost of policy academy shall be shared equally by the candidate seeking appointment as a police officer and the Town of Hammonton.
[Added 2-25-2002 by Ord. No. 4-2002; amended 6-28-2021 by Ord. No. 009-2021]