N.Y. CVS Law § 58 — New York Code / Act CVS / Article 4 / Title A / Section 58
Requirements for appointment of certain police officers
Status: in_force

§ 58. Requirements for appointment of certain police officers. 1.\nNotwithstanding any other provision of this law or any general, special\nor local law to the contrary, no person shall be eligible for\nappointment as a police officer of the department of environmental\nconservation or of any police force or police department of any county,\ncity, town, village, housing authority or police district unless they\nshall satisfy the following basic requirements:\n  (a) they are not less than twenty years of age as of the date of\nappointment nor more than forty-three years of age as of the date when\nthe applicant takes the written examination, provided that the maximum\nage requirement of forty-three years of age as set forth in this\nparagraph shall not apply to eligible lists finalized pursuant to an\nexamination administered prior to May thirty-first, nineteen hundred\nninety-nine or a police officer in the department of environmental\nconservation, provided, however, that:\n  (i) time spent on military duty or on terminal leave, not exceeding a\ntotal of six years, shall be subtracted from the age of any applicant\nwho has passed their forty-third birthday as provided in subdivision\nten-a of section two hundred forty-three of the military law;\n  (ii) such maximum age requirement of forty-three years shall not apply\nto any police officer as defined in subdivision thirty-four of section\n1.20 of the criminal procedure law, who was continuously employed by the\nBuffalo municipal housing authority between January first, two thousand\nfive and June thirtieth, two thousand five and who takes the next\nwritten exam offered after the effective date of this subparagraph by\nthe city of Buffalo civil service commission for employment as a police\nofficer in the city of Buffalo police department, or June thirtieth, two\nthousand six, whichever is later; and\n  (iii) such maximum age requirement of forty-three years shall not\napply to any police officer of any county, town, city or village police\nforce not otherwise provided for in this section if the eligible list\nhas been exhausted and there are no other eligible candidates; provided,\nhowever, the police officer themselves are on the eligible list of such\ncounty, town, city or village and meet all other requirements of merit\nand fitness set forth by this chapter and do not exceed the maximum age\nof forty-three;\n  (b) they are a high school graduate or a holder of a high school\nequivalency diploma issued by an education department of any of the\nstates of the United States or a holder of a comparable diploma issued\nby any commonwealth, territory or possession of the United States or by\nthe Canal Zone or a holder of a report from the United States armed\nforces certifying their successful completion of the tests of general\neducational development, high school level;\n  (c) they satisfy the height, weight, physical and psychological\nfitness requirements prescribed by the municipal police training council\npursuant to the provisions of section eight hundred forty of the\nexecutive law; and\n  (d) they are of good moral character as determined in accordance with\nthe background investigation standards of the municipal police training\ncouncil pursuant to the provisions of section eight hundred forty of the\nexecutive law.\n  1-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other section of law,\ngeneral, special or local, should it be determined by the appointing\nauthority that a candidate does not meet the psychological fitness\nrequirements or lacks the good moral character standards set by the\nmunicipal police training council pursuant to the provisions of section\neight hundred forty of the executive law, then the appointing authority\nmay request that the local civil service commissioner remove such\ncandidate from the eligible list. Upon receiving such request, the local\ncivil service commissioner shall comply forthwith.\n  1-b. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other section of law,\ngeneral, special or local, in political subdivisions maintaining a\npolice department serving a population of one hundred fifty thousand or\nless, no person shall be eligible for appointment nor shall they be\nappointed to any rank above the rank of police officer unless they have\nbeen appointed a police officer from an eligible list established\naccording to merit and fitness as provided by section six of article\nfive of the constitution of the state of New York or has previously\nserved as a member of the New York state police.\n  1-c. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other section of law,\ngeneral, special or local, any political subdivision maintaining a\npolice department serving a population of one hundred fifty thousand or\nless and with positions for more than four full-time police officers,\nshall maintain the office of chief of police.\n  2. The provisions of this section shall not prevent any county, city,\ntown, village, housing authority, transit authority, police district or\nthe department of environmental conservation from setting more\nrestrictive requirements of eligibility for its police officers.\n  3. As used in this section, the term "police officer" means a police\nofficer in the department of environmental conservation, the state\nuniversity police, a member of the regional state park police or a\npolice force, police department, or other organization of a county,\ncity, town, village, housing authority, transit authority or police\ndistrict, who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime\nand the enforcement of the general criminal laws of the state, but shall\nnot include any person serving as such solely by virtue of occupying any\nother office or position, nor shall such term include a sheriff,\nunder-sheriff, commissioner of police, deputy or assistant commissioner\nof police, chief of police, deputy or assistant chief of police or any\nperson having an equivalent title who is appointed or employed to\nexercise equivalent supervisory authority.\n  4. (a) Any person who has received permanent appointment in the\ncompetitive class of the civil service as a police officer of the\nregional state park police, the state university of New York police, the\ndepartment of environmental conservation or any police force or police\ndepartment of any county, city, town, village, housing authority,\ntransit authority or police district shall be eligible to resign from\nany police force or police department and, subject to such civil service\nrules as may be applicable, shall be eligible for reinstatement in the\nsame police force or police department or in any other police force or\npolice department to which they were eligible for transfer, without\nsatisfying the age requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of\nsubdivision one of this section at the time of such reinstatement,\nprovided such reinstatement occurs within one year of the date of\nresignation.\n  (b) (i) Legislative findings and declaration. The legislature hereby\nfinds and declares that it is frequently impracticable to ascertain\nfitness for the positions of detective and investigator within various\npolice or sheriffs departments around the state by means of a\ncompetitive examination due to the unique nature of the duties assigned\nand the intangible personal qualities needed to perform such duties. The\nlegislature further finds that competitive examination has never been\nemployed in many police, correction or sheriffs departments, to\nascertain fitness for the positions of detective and investigator within\nsuch police, correction or sheriffs departments; such fitness has always\nbeen determined by evaluation of the capabilities of an individual (who\nhas in any case received permanent appointment to the position of police\nofficer, correction officer of any rank or deputy sheriff) by\nsupervisory personnel. The legislature further finds that an individual\nwho performs in an investigatory position in a manner sufficiently\nsatisfactory to the appropriate supervisors to hold such an assignment\nfor a period of eighteen months, has demonstrated fitness for the\nposition of detective or investigator within such police, correction or\nsheriffs department at least as sufficiently as could be ascertained by\nmeans of a competitive examination.\n  (ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any jurisdiction,\nother than a city with a population of one million or more or the state\ndepartment of corrections and community supervision, which does not\nadminister examinations for designation to detective or investigator,\nany person who has received permanent appointment to the position of\npolice officer, correction officer of any rank or deputy sheriff and is\ntemporarily assigned to perform the duties of detective or investigator\nshall, whenever such assignment to the duties of a detective or\ninvestigator exceeds eighteen months, be permanently designated as a\ndetective or investigator and receive the compensation ordinarily paid\nto persons in such designation.\n  (iii) Nothing contained in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph shall\nbe construed to limit any jurisdiction's ability to administer\nexaminations for appointment to the positions of detective and\ninvestigator, provided however that any person temporarily assigned to\nperform the duties of detective or investigator within the period\ncommencing September twenty-third, nineteen hundred ninety-three through\nand including the date upon which this paragraph shall have become a law\nand who has not been designated as a detective or investigator and who\nhas not been subject to an examination for which there is a certified\neligible list, shall be permanently designated as a detective or\ninvestigator whenever such assignment to the duties of detective or\ninvestigator exceeds eighteen months.\n  (iv) Detectives and investigators designated since September\ntwenty-third, nineteen hundred ninety and prior to February\ntwenty-fourth, nineteen hundred ninety-five by any state, county, town,\nvillage or city (other than a city with a population of one million or\nmore or the state department of corrections and community supervision)\npolice, correction or sheriffs department, pursuant to the provisions of\nthis paragraph in effect during such period, who continue to serve in\nsuch positions, shall retain their detective or investigator status\nwithout any right to retroactive financial entitlement.\n  5. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the investigatory\npersonnel of the office of the district attorney in any county,\nincluding any county within the city of New York.\n  6. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any individual\nholding the position of deputy sheriff in Westchester county prior to\nJuly first, nineteen hundred seventy-nine upon the transfer of such\nindividual to service in the Westchester county department of public\nsafety services.\n