N.Y. EXC Law § 840 — New York Code / Act EXC / Article 35 / Section 840
Functions, powers and duties of council
Status: in_force

§ 840. Functions, powers and duties of council. 1. The council may\nrecommend to the governor rules and regulations with respect to:\n  (a) The approval, or revocation thereof, of police training schools\nadministered by municipalities;\n  (b) Minimum courses of study, attendance requirements, and equipment\nand facilities to be required at approved municipal police training\nschools;\n  (c) Minimum qualifications for instructors at approved police training\nschools;\n  (d) The requirements of minimum basic training which police officers\nappointed to probationary terms shall complete before being eligible for\npermanent appointment, and the time within which such basic training\nmust be completed following such appointment to a probationary term;\n  (e) The requirements of minimum basic training which police officers\nnot appointed for probationary terms but appointed on other than a\npermanent basis shall complete in order to be eligible for continued\nemployment or permanent appointment, and the time within which such\nbasic training must be completed following such appointment on a\nnon-permanent basis;\n  (f) The requirements of minimum basic training which peace officers\nmust complete before being eligible for certification as peace officers,\npursuant to section 2.30 of the criminal procedure law;\n  (g) Categories or classifications of advanced in-service training\nprograms and minimum courses of study and attendance requirements with\nrespect to such categories or classifications; and\n  (i) The establishment, in cooperation with the division of state\npolice, of a formalized consumer product tampering training program for\nall law enforcement personnel.\n  (j) (1) Development, maintenance and dissemination of written policies\nand procedures pursuant to title six of article six of the social\nservices law and applicable provisions of article ten of the family\ncourt act, regarding the mandatory reporting of child abuse or neglect,\nreporting procedures and obligations of persons required to report,\nprovisions for taking a child into protective custody, mandatory\nreporting of deaths, immunity from liability, penalties for failure to\nreport and obligations for the provision of services and procedures\nnecessary to safeguard the life or health of the child; (2)\nestablishment and implementation on an ongoing basis, of a training\nprogram for all current and new police officers regarding the policies\nand procedures established pursuant to this paragraph; and (3)\nestablishment of a training program for police officers whose main\nresponsibilities are juveniles and the laws pertaining thereto,\nincluding children under twelve years of age who do not fall under the\ndefinition of juvenile delinquent pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of\nparagraph (a) of subdivision one of section 301.2 of the family court\nact and whose behavior, but for their age would bring them within the\njurisdiction of the family court pursuant to article three of the family\ncourt act, which training program shall be successfully completed before\nsuch officers are accredited pursuant to section eight hundred\nforty-six-h of this chapter.\n  (k) Development, maintenance and dissemination, in consultation with\nthe department of agriculture and markets, of written policies and\nprocedures pursuant to animal cruelty and protection laws, including,\nbut not limited to, article twenty-six of the agriculture and markets\nlaw, section 352.3 of the family court act as it applies to companion\nanimals, and applicable provisions of the penal law, regarding the\ninvestigation and prevention of any act of cruelty to animals. The\ncouncil shall make provisions in such policies and procedures for the\neducation and training in enforcement of such animal cruelty and\nprotection laws.\n  (l) Exemptions from particular provisions of this article in the case\nof peace officers appointed by the superintendent of state police if in\nits opinion the standards of peace officer training provided by the\ndivision of state police exceed those established pursuant to this\narticle.\n  (m) Establishment and implementation on an ongoing basis, of a\ntraining program for all current and new police officers and peace\nofficers regarding the policies and procedures established pursuant to\nparagraph (k) of this subdivision.\n  2. The council shall promulgate, and may from time to time amend, such\nrules and regulations prescribing height, weight, physical fitness and\npsychological requirements for eligibility of persons for provisional or\npermanent appointment in the competitive class of the civil service as\npolice officers of any county, city, town, village or police district as\nit deems necessary and proper for the efficient performance of police\nduties.\n  2-a. The council, in consultation with the state commission of\ncorrection, shall promulgate rules and regulations with respect to:\n  (a) The approval, or revocation thereof, of basic and other\ncorrectional training programs administered by municipalities;\n  (b) Minimum courses of study, attendance requirements, and equipment\nand facilities to be required at approved basic and other correctional\ntraining programs;\n  (c) Minimum qualifications for instructors at approved basic and other\ncorrectional training programs; and\n  (d) The requirements of a minimum basic correctional training program\nrequired by subdivision nine of section eight hundred thirty-seven-a of\nthis article.\n  2-b. The council shall promulgate, and may from time to time amend,\nsuch rules and regulations concerning background investigations for\neligibility of persons for provisional or permanent appointment in the\ncompetitive class of the civil service as police officers of any county,\ncity, town, village or police district as it deems necessary and proper\nfor the efficient performance of police duties, which shall be\nincorporated by the law enforcement agency accreditation council as part\nof the certification process in paragraph (d) of subdivision one of\nsection eight hundred forty-six-h of this chapter.\n  3. The council shall, in addition: (a) Consult with, advise and make\nrecommendations to the commissioner with respect to the exercise of his\nor her functions, powers and duties as set forth in section eight\nhundred forty-one of this article;\n  (b) Recommend studies, surveys and reports to be made by the\ncommissioner regarding the carrying out of the objectives and purposes\nof this section;\n  (c) Visit and inspect any police training school and correctional\ntraining programs approved by the commissioner or for which application\nfor such approval has been made;\n  (d) Make recommendations, from time to time, to the commissioner, the\ngovernor and the legislature, regarding the carrying out of the purposes\nof this section;\n  (e) Perform such other acts as may be necessary or appropriate to\ncarry out the functions of the council;\n  (f) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the state\noffice for the prevention of domestic violence, written policies and\nprocedures consistent with article eight of the family court act and\napplicable provisions of the criminal procedure and domestic relations\nlaws, regarding the investigation of and intervention by new and veteran\npolice officers in incidents of family offenses. Such policies and\nprocedures shall make provisions for education and training in the\ninterpretation and enforcement of New York's family offense laws,\nincluding but not limited to:\n  (1) intake and recording of victim statements, and the prompt\ntranslation of such statements if made in a language other than English,\nin accordance with subparagraph three of this paragraph, on a\nstandardized "domestic violence incident report form" promulgated by the\ndivision of criminal justice services in consultation with the\nsuperintendent of state police, representatives of local police forces\nand the state office for the prevention of domestic violence, and the\ninvestigation thereof so as to ascertain whether a crime has been\ncommitted against the victim by a member of the victim's family or\nhousehold as such terms are defined in section eight hundred twelve of\nthe family court act and section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law;\nand\n  (2) the need for immediate intervention in family offenses including\nthe arrest and detention of alleged offenders, pursuant to subdivision\nfour of section 140.10 of the criminal procedure law, and notifying\nvictims of their rights, in their native language, if identified as\nother than English, in accordance with subparagraph three of this\nparagraph, including but not limited to immediately providing the victim\nwith the written notice required in subdivision six of section 530.11 of\nthe criminal procedure law and subdivision five of section eight hundred\ntwelve of the family court act;\n  (3) determine, in consultation with the superintendent of state police\nand the office for the prevention of domestic violence, the languages in\nwhich such translation required by subparagraph one of this paragraph,\nand the notification required by subparagraph two of this paragraph,\nshall be provided. Such determination shall be based on the size of the\nNew York state population that speaks each language and any other\nrelevant factor. Such written notice required pursuant to subparagraph\ntwo of this paragraph shall be made available to all local law\nenforcement agencies throughout the state. Nothing in this paragraph\nshall prevent the council from using the determinations made by the\nsuperintendent of state police pursuant to subdivision (c) of section\ntwo hundred fourteen-b of this chapter;\n  (f-1) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the\noffice of temporary and disability assistance and the division of\ncriminal justice services, written policies and procedures regarding\nhuman trafficking victims. Such policies and procedures shall include,\nbut not be limited to the following: (1) the identification of potential\nvictims of human trafficking, as defined under section four hundred\neighty-three-aa of the social services law; and (2) information and/or\nreferral to appropriate social and legal services for victims of human\ntrafficking in accordance with section four hundred eighty-three-bb of\nthe social services law;\n  (f-2) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the\noffice of children and family services, written policies and procedures\nregarding child-sensitive arrest practices. Such policies and procedures\nshall address such situations in which the parent, guardian, or other\nperson legally charged with the care or custody of a child less than\neighteen years old is arrested. Such policies and procedures shall\ninclude, but not be limited to:\n  (1) procedures regarding identification and documentation of whether\nan arrestee is the parent, guardian or person legally charged with the\ncare or custody of a child;\n  (2) procedures to allow for the arrangement of temporary care for the\nchild of an arrested parent, guardian or other person legally charged\nwith the care or custody of such child, which may include allowing the\narrested parent, guardian or other person legally charged with the care\nor custody of such child to place additional phone calls to arrange for\nchild care;\n  (3) appropriate actions that will allow law enforcement to assist in\nminimizing the impact of the emotional harm caused by witnessing such\narrests; and\n  (4) information on the availability of access to community-based\nproviders of crises intervention, child protection and other supportive\nresources that could aid the child of an arrested parent, guardian or\nother person legally charged with the care or custody of such child;\n  (g) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the state\ndivision of human rights and the state civil service department, written\npolicies and procedures to enhance police and correctional officer\nrecruitment efforts and to increase police and correctional officer\nawareness of racial, ethnic, religious and gender differences, and other\ndiversity issues, in communities served by such police and in\ncorrectional facilities;\n  (h) Consult with the state commission of correction regarding\ncorrectional training programs; and\n  (i) Develop, maintain and disseminate written policies and procedures\nand educational materials regarding the availability of and procedure\nfor filing extreme risk protection orders under article sixty-three-A of\nthe civil practice law and rules, including the requirements for police\nofficers under section six thousand forty-one of such article,\nappropriately instruct any agency that employs police or peace officers\nregarding article sixty-three-A of the civil practice law and rules.\n  4. The council shall, in addition:\n  (a) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with rape\ncrisis centers experienced in assisting victims in this state, written\npolicies and procedures consistent with applicable provisions of the\nfamily court act, domestic relations law, criminal procedure law and the\npenal law, regarding the investigation of and intervention by new and\nveteran police officers in crimes involving sexual assault. Such\npolicies and procedures shall make provisions for education and training\nof new and veteran police officers in the investigation and enforcement\nof crimes involving sexual assault under state law, including but not\nlimited to:\n  (1) techniques for interviewing sexual assault victims,\n  (2) fair treatment standards for crime victims pursuant to article\ntwenty-three of this chapter,\n  (3) evidence gathering and evidence preservation, and\n  (4) dissemination of information concerning availability of local\nservices for the victims of such crimes; and\n  (b) Recommend to the governor, rules and regulations with respect to\nestablishment and implementation on an ongoing basis of a training\nprogram for all current and new police officers regarding the policies\nand procedures established pursuant to this subdivision, along with\nrecommendations for periodic retraining of police officers.\n  (c) Disseminate the written policies and procedures promulgated in\naccordance with subdivision twenty-one of section eight hundred\nthirty-seven of this article to all police departments in this state and\nimplement a training program for all current and new police officers\nregarding the policies and procedures established pursuant to such\nsubdivision.\n  (d)(1) Establish and regularly update a model law enforcement use of\nforce policy suitable for adoption by any agency that employs police or\npeace officers.\n  (2) The model law enforcement use of force policy shall include, but\nis not limited to:\n  (i) information on current law as it relates to the use of force by\npolice and peace officers;\n  (ii) guidelines regarding when use of force is permitted;\n  (iii) requirements for documenting use of force;\n  (iv) procedures for investigating use of force incidents;\n  (v) guidelines regarding excessive use of force including duty to\nintervene, reporting, and timely medical treatment for injured persons;\n  (vi) standards for failure to adhere to use of force guidelines;\n  (vii) training mandates on use of force, conflict prevention, conflict\nresolution and negotiation, de-escalation techniques and strategies,\nincluding, but not limited to, interacting with persons presenting in an\nagitated condition; and\n  (viii) prohibited uses of force.\n  (3) The person in charge of every local police department, local\ncorrectional facility, each county sheriff, the superintendent of the\ndivision of the state police, the commissioner of the department of\ncorrections and community supervision, and the person in charge of every\nagency that employs a peace officer in this state shall adopt and\nimplement a use of force policy in the agency of which they are in\ncharge. Such use of force policy shall be consistent with the model law\nenforcement use of force policy established pursuant to this\nsubdivision, except that such departments, county sheriffs,\nsuperintendent, commissioner and agencies that employ a peace officer\nmay impose further and additional restrictions on the use of force, in\nsuch use of force policy or otherwise.\n  (4) The model law enforcement use of force policy and every use of\nforce policy established pursuant to subparagraph three of this\nparagraph shall be a public document, and shall be made available\nwithout charge to any member of the public promptly upon request. Each\nsuch current use of force policy shall be conspicuously posted on the\npublic website of the agency that adopted it. Revisions to such use of\nforce policies shall be updated on the agency's public website within\nseventy-two hours of approval of any amendment.\n  5. The council shall, in addition:\n  (a) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the\ncommissioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities,\nwritten policies and procedures consistent with section 13.43 of the\nmental hygiene law, regarding the handling of emergency situations\ninvolving individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other\ndevelopmental disabilities. Such policies and procedures shall make\nprovisions for the education and training of new and veteran police\nofficers on the handling of emergency situations involving individuals\nwith autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities,\nincluding but not limited to training on the appropriate use of force on\nsuch individuals, as well as training on appropriate techniques for\ndeescalating encounters with such individuals that is consistent with\nsuch individual's safety; and\n  (b) Recommend to the governor, rules and regulations with respect to\nthe establishment and implementation on an ongoing basis of a training\nprogram for all current and new police officers regarding the policies\nand procedures established pursuant to this subdivision, along with\nrecommendations for periodic retraining of police officers.\n  6. The council shall, in addition:\n  (a) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the\ndivision of human rights and the hate crime task force established\npursuant to section two hundred sixteen of this chapter, written\npolicies and procedures regarding the recognition of and response to\nhate crimes, as defined in article four hundred eighty-five of the penal\nlaw. Such policies and procedures shall make provisions for the\neducation and training of new and veteran police officers on the\nrecognition of and response to hate crimes; and\n  (b) Recommend to the governor, rules and regulations with respect to\nthe establishment and implementation on an ongoing basis of a training\nprogram for all current and new police officers regarding the policies\nand procedures established pursuant to this subdivision, along with\nrecommendations for periodic retraining of police officers. Such\nrecommended rules and recommendations shall also be submitted to the\ntemporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly.\n  7. The council shall, in addition:\n  (a) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in collaboration with the\noffice of victim services, a model law enforcement death notification\npolicy setting forth recommended policies and procedures regarding\nin-person death notifications to a deceased individual's next of kin.\nSuch policies and procedures shall make provisions for education and\ntraining of current and new police officers in the planning,\npreparation, and delivery of in-person death notifications, including\nbut not limited to, policies and procedures for:\n  (i) the identification of the deceased individual, the collection of\naccurate information regarding the deceased individual, and the\nidentification of the deceased individual's next of kin; and\n  (ii) the actual delivery of in-person death notifications to the\ndeceased's next of kin within twenty-four hours following the\nidentification of such individual; provided, however, such policies and\nprocedures shall provide that, in the event that an in-person death\nnotification cannot be provided to the deceased individual's next of kin\nwithin such timeframe, the failure or delay of such notification shall\nbe documented and such notification shall instead be made as soon as\npracticable; and\n  (iii) providing information to the deceased individual's next of kin\nregarding the existence of programs and support services available to\nthem.\n  (b) Recommend to the governor rules and regulations with respect to\nthe establishment and implementation on an ongoing basis of a training\nprogram for all current and new police officers regarding the policies\nand procedures established pursuant to this subdivision, along with\nrecommendations for periodic retraining of police officers.\n  (c) Disseminate the model law enforcement death notification policy\npromulgated in accordance with this subdivision to all police\ndepartments in this state and develop a model training program for all\ncurrent and new police officers regarding the policies and procedures\nestablished pursuant to such subdivision.\n  * 8. The council shall, in addition:\n  (a) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the\ncommissioner of the office of mental health, written policies and\nprocedures regarding the handling of situations involving individuals\nwho appear to be mentally ill and are conducting themselves in a manner\nwhich is likely to result in serious harm to the person or others. Such\npolicies and procedures shall make provisions for the education and\ntraining of new and veteran police officers. Such training and education\nshall focus on appropriate recognition and response techniques for\nhandling emergency situations involving individuals with mental illness\nincluding, but not limited to, how to de-escalate a situation involving\nan individual who may be experiencing a mental health crisis while\nminimizing the use of force and identifying alternatives to the criminal\njustice system; and\n  (b) Recommend to the division, rules and regulations establishing and\nimplementing a required training program for all current and new police\nofficers regarding the policies and procedures established pursuant to\nthis subdivision, along with recommendations for periodic retraining of\npolice officers. Such required training for current officers shall be\ncompleted within thirty-six months of the effective date of this\nsubdivision; provided however it shall be completed within twenty-four\nmonths of the effective date of this subdivision in a city with a\npopulation of one million or more. The division shall review such\nrecommendations and promulgate regulations consistent with this\nsubdivision.\n  * NB There are 2 sb 8's\n  * 8. The council shall promulgate rules and regulations requiring\ntraining and instruction for all police officers with respect to crimes\ninvolving sexual assault. Such training and instruction, which shall be\ndesigned and presented in consultation with the rape crisis centers\nexperienced in assisting victims in this state, shall include, but not\nbe limited to understanding rape and sexual abuse trauma and\npsychological issues confronted by such crime victims, common attributes\nof offenders, fair treatment standards for crime victims pursuant to\narticle twenty-three of this chapter, evidence gathering and\npreservation issues, interview techniques and information concerning the\navailability of local services for the victims of such crimes. All new\nofficers shall receive such training and instruction, as part of the\nbasic curriculum at the state police academy or at municipal police\nacademies, as applicable. The council shall promulgate such rules and\nregulations as it deems necessary concerning periodic retraining of\npolice officers regarding crimes involving sexual assault.\n  * NB Effective December 12, 2026\n  * NB There are 2 sb 8's\n