N.Y. RRD Law § 88 — New York Code / Act RRD / Article 3 / Section 88
When railroads may designate police officers
Status: in_force

§ 88.  When railroads may designate police officers. 1. Upon the\napplication of any corporation owning or operating a railroad, express\ncompany operating over a railroad, or of any steamboat company, the\nsuperintendent of state police may appoint any person as a police\nofficer, with all the powers of a police officer in cities and villages,\nfor the preservation of order and of the public peace, and the arrest of\nall persons committing offenses upon the land of or upon property in the\ncustody of or under the control of such corporation, express company or\nsteamboat company.\n  2. Such application shall be in writing, specifying the name, age, and\naddress of each person for whom an appointment is sought.\n  3. The corporation, express company or steamboat company making any\nsuch application shall cause the fingerprints of each proposed appointee\nto be taken in the form and manner prescribed by the division of\ncriminal justice services and one set of such fingerprints shall be\nforwarded to the division of criminal justice services, and one set to\nthe federal bureau of investigation. Such fingerprints shall be searched\nby each agency against the fingerprint records in its files and be\nretained in the files of such agencies.\n  4. Reports of the results of such searches shall be reviewed by the\nsuperintendent of state police prior to granting an appointment to\ndetermine whether a proposed appointee is thereby shown to have been\nconvicted of a crime in the state of New York or of any offense in any\nother place which if committed in the state of New York would have been\na crime and no person who is determined by such review to have been so\nconvicted shall receive an appointment under this section.\n  5. The corporation, express company or steamboat company making\napplication shall also cause an investigation to be conducted in a\nmanner satisfactory to the superintendent of state police of the\ncharacter, qualifications and fitness of each proposed appointee and\nshall transmit to the superintendent of state police a report of the\nresults of such investigation which shall be reviewed by the\nsuperintendent of state police and no person whom such investigation\nshows to be other than of good moral character shall receive an\nappointment under this section.\n  6. No person shall be granted an appointment as a police officer under\nthis section unless and until the corporation, express company or\nsteamboat company making application shall certify to the superintendent\nof state police that the proposed appointee has had the minimum police\ntraining required for local police officers by the municipal police\ntraining council of the office of local government, executive\ndepartment, state of New York, or such equivalent training as may be\nspecifically approved by the executive director of the municipal police\ntraining council or if the proposed appointee has not had such minimum\ntraining that he will receive the same within twelve months from the\ndate of any appointment granted under this section.\n  7. No person shall be granted an appointment as a police officer under\nthis section unless and until the corporation, express company or\nsteamboat company making application shall certify to the superintendent\nof state police that the proposed appointee has had adequate firearms\ntraining or that before he is issued and/or is permitted to carry\nfirearms and within six months from the date of any appointment made\nunder this section, he will receive such training.\n  8. If any person who has not received the minimum police and/or\nfirearms training described in subdivisions six and seven of this\nsection shall be appointed a police officer under this section, the\ncorporation, express company or steamboat company which made application\nfor his or her employment shall furnish the superintendent of state\npolice, within six months of the date of appointment, a certificate\nissued by an approved municipal police council training school or its\nequivalent as previously described in this section, certifying the\nsuccessful completion by the appointee of the minimum training required\nand/or shall certify to the superintendent of state police within six\nmonths of the date of appointment that the appointee has received\nadequate training in the use of firearms and in the event such\ncertificate and/or such certification are not furnished the\nsuperintendent of state police within the time prescribed herein, he or\nshe shall revoke the appointment.\n  9. The superintendent of state police shall file the certificate of\nappointment of any such person in the office of the department of state,\nand shall forthwith notify the person appointed, by mail, at the address\nspecified in the application that the certificate has been so filed.\nEach such person shall, within fifteen days after such certificate shall\nhave been filed, and before entering upon the duties of his office, take\nand subscribe the constitutional oath of office, and file it in the\noffice of the department of state. The home address of the person\nappointed shall appear in the certificate of appointment, and whenever\nsuch address is changed the corporation, express company or steamboat\ncompany employing the person appointed shall file with the\nsuperintendent of state police a statement of the new address.\n  10. No person shall be appointed who is not an American citizen, and\nwho has not, prior to the time of the filing of the application, filed\nin the office of the department of state his or her written consent to\nhis or her appointment as such police officer.\n  11. No conductor, brakeman, fireman, engineer or other person actively\nengaged in the operation and movement of any train or car or set of cars\nshall be eligible for appointment as a police officer.\n  12. Each person designated to act as such police officer shall receive\na license from the secretary of state and shall not be permitted to\nenter upon his or her duties as such police officer until he or she has\nactually received such license.\n  13. Every such police officer shall when on duty wear a metallic\nshield with the words "railroad police" or "steamboat police" or\n"express police" as the case may be and the name of the corporation,\nexpress company or steamboat company for which appointed inscribed\nthereon, which shall always be worn in plain view, except when employed\nas a detective.\n  14. A person appointed police officer under this section shall not,\nwhile the appointment is in force, be employed by or perform any service\nfor the corporation, express company, or steamboat company, in any other\ncapacity than that of police officer and he or she shall not be\npermitted to exercise the duties or functions of a police officer except\nupon the property or in connection with the property connected with or\nunder the control of the corporation, express company, or steamboat\ncompany, for which he or she has been appointed.\n  15. The compensation of every such police officer shall be such as may\nbe agreed upon between him or her and the corporation, express company,\nor steamboat company, for which he or she is appointed and shall be paid\nby the corporation, express company, or steamboat company.\n  16. When any such corporation, express company, or steamboat company,\nshall no longer require the services of any police officer appointed\nunder this section it shall file notice to that effect in the office of\nthe department of state, and thereupon such appointment shall cease and\nbe at an end.\n  17. The superintendent of state police may also at pleasure revoke or\nsuspend the appointment of any such police officer by filing a notice of\nsuspension or revocation thereof in the office of the department of\nstate and mailing a notice of such filing to the corporation, express\ncompany or steamboat company for which he or she was appointed, and also\nto the person whose appointment is suspended or revoked, at his or her\nlast home address as the same appears in the certificate of appointment\nor the latest statement thereof on file. An appointment suspended by the\nsuperintendent may be restored by him or her upon the filing of a\nrestoration notice to the department of state, the person suspended, and\nhis or her employer.\n  18. If such person thereafter, knowing of such revocation or having in\nany manner received notice thereof, exercises or attempts to exercise\nany of the powers of a police officer, under this section, he or she\nshall be guilty of a misdemeanor; and the filing and mailing of such\nnotice, as above provided, shall be presumptive evidence that such\nperson knew of the revocation.\n