2023 New York Laws › PCM - Police Certain Municipalities 360/11

Chapter 360 of the laws of 1911
Police in certain municipalities
Section  1.  a.  Within  thirty  days after this act takes effect, the
  commissioner of police, superintendent of police, chief  of  police,  or
  other  officer  or officers, having the management, control or direction
  of the police force of any city of the first or  second  class  in  this
  state,  (except  the  City of New York Police Department and the City of
  Syracuse Police Department) shall divide the lieutenants, sergeants  and
  patrolmen  of such force (but not including the detective sergeants) who
  may be on duty in the open air, on the streets, or other  public  places
  of the city, into three platoons. No one of such platoons nor any member
  thereof  shall  be  assigned to more than one tour of duty; such tour of
  duty shall not  exceed  eight  consecutive  hours  of  each  consecutive
  twenty-four  hours and no platoon or member thereof shall be assigned to
  more than forty hours of duty during any seven consecutive  day  period,
  excepting  only  that in the event of strikes, riots, conflagrations, or
  occasions when large crowds shall assemble, or other similar  emergency,
  or on a day on which an election authorized by law shall be held, or for
  the  purpose  of changing tours of duty, so many of said platoons, or of
  the members thereof, may be continued on duty for such hours as  may  be
  necessary. Within thirty days after this section as hereby amended takes
  effect,  the  commissioner of police, superintendent of police, chief of
  police, or other officer or officers, having the management, control  or
  direction of the police force of any other city and of each county, town
  or  village  having a police force of not less than four members, and of
  each police force of any commission or other agency of a county having a
  police force of not  less  than  four  members,  shall  not  assign  any
  patrolman  thereof who may be on duty in the open air, on the streets or
  other public places to more than one tour of duty;  such  tour  of  duty
  shall not exceed eight consecutive hours of each consecutive twenty-four
  hours  and  no  patrolman  shall be assigned to more than forty hours of
  duty during any seven consecutive day period; except in an emergency  as
  described in this section or for the purpose of changing tours of duty.
b. Each such uniformed member after having served one year in the said
  police force or service, shall be allowed an annual vacation of not less
  than   fourteen   consecutive  days  without  diminution  of  salary  or
  compensation as fixed by or pursuant to law.  During  an  emergency,  as
  herein defined, the annual vacation provided for herein may be withheld,
  and  the  length  of  a  day's  work, and the nature of the duty whether
  patrol, reserve or emergency duty  shall  be  determined  by  the  local
  authorities.
c.  Upon  cessation  of  such  an emergency each uniformed member from
  whom, during such an emergency, a vacation or a portion  of  a  vacation
  shall  have  been  withheld  shall  receive  within six months from such
  cessation a leave of absence with pay commensurate with  the  number  of
  days of such vacation withheld.
d.  In  the city of New York, the police commissioner, and in the city
  of Syracuse, the chief of  police,  shall  promulgate  duty  charts  for
  members  of the police force which distribute the available police force
  according to the relative need for its  services.  This  need  shall  be
  measured  by  the  incidence  of  police hazard and criminal activity or
  other similar factor or  factors.  No  member  of  the  force  shall  be
  assigned  to perform a tour of duty in excess of eight consecutive hours
  excepting only that in the event of strikes,  riots,  conflagrations  or
  occasions  when large crowds shall assemble, or other emergency, or on a
  day on which an election authorized by law shall be  held,  or  for  the
  purpose  of  changing  tours of duty so many members may be continued on
  duty for such hours as may be necessary. No member shall be assigned  to

  an average of more than forty hours of duty during any seven consecutive
  day period except in an emergency or as permitted in this subdivision or
  for  the  purpose of changing tours of duty or as otherwise provided for
  by law.
e.  The  commissioner  of  police,  superintendent of police, chief of
  police, or other officer or officers, having the management, control  or
  direction  of  the  housing  police service of the New York city housing
  authority, shall promulgate duty charts for members  of  such  force  or
  service which distribute the available force or service according to the
  relative  need  for  its  services.  This  need shall be measured by the
  incidence of police hazard and criminal activity or other similar factor
  or factors.  No member of such force or service  shall  be  assigned  to
  perform  a  tour  of duty in excess of eight consecutive hours excepting
  only that in the event of strikes, riots,  conflagrations  or  occasions
  when  large  crowds  shall  assemble, or other emergency, or on a day on
  which an election authorized by law shall be held, or for the purpose of
  changing tours of duty so many members may be continued on duty for such
  hours as may be necessary. No member shall be assigned to an average  of
  more  than  forty  hours of duty during any seven consecutive day period
  except in an emergency or as permitted in this subdivision  or  for  the
  purpose of changing tours of duty or as otherwise provided for by law.
f.  The  chief  of  police,  or  other officer or officers, having the
  management, control or direction of the uniformed transit  police  force
  of the New York city transit authority, shall promulgate duty charts for
  members  of such force which distribute the available force according to
  the relative need for its services. This need shall be measured  by  the
  incidence of police hazard and criminal activity or other similar factor
  or  factors.  No  member  of  such force or service shall be assigned to
  perform a tour of duty in excess of eight  consecutive  hours  excepting
  only  that  in  the event of strikes, riots, conflagrations or occasions
  when large crowds shall assemble, or other emergency, or for the purpose
  of changing tours of duty so many members may be continued on  duty  for
  such  hours  as  may  be  necessary.  No  member shall be assigned to an
  average of more than forty hours of duty during  any  seven  consecutive
  day period except in an emergency or as permitted in this subdivision or
  for  the  purpose of changing tours of duty or as otherwise provided for
  by law. In making  assignment  to  the  aforementioned  tours  of  duty,
  volunteers for said tours of duty shall have priority and shall be taken
  in  order  of  seniority. As vacancies occur in said tours of duty, such
  vacancies shall be filled with volunteers on the basis of seniority.  If
  sufficient  volunteers  are  not  available  to  fill the aforementioned
  promulgated tours of duty, the chief of the department  shall  have  the
  right to assign low seniority members where consistent with the needs of
  the department to perform such tours of duty.
§  2.  The  tours  of  duty  of  sergeants, roundsmen, patrolmen, (not
  including detective sergeants) on duty in the open air, on  the  streets
  or  other  public  places  of a city of the first class or a city of the
  second class shall be changed at least  once  in  each  calendar  month.
  Provided, however, that in cities of the first and second class which on
  December  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred  and  ten,  had  in force and
  operation a three platoon system, the tour of duty of such platoons  and
  each  member thereof, and the manner of changing such tours of duty may,
  at the election of the local authorities, having the management, control
  or direction of the police force, be and continue as the  same  were  in
  force  and  in operation on said December thirty-first, nineteen hundred
  and ten.
§ 3. Policemen, while on  reserve  duty  as  mentioned  in  the  first
  section  of this act, shall not be required to render any service except

  in case of an emergency, and shall be free to retire  for  sleep  during
  reserved  duty  in  their  station  house, subject to call in case of an
  emergency. For the purpose of this act, an emergency shall be defined as
  enumerated in section number one of this act.
§  4.  Any  commissioner of police, superintendent of police, chief of
  police, or other officer or officers, having the management, control  or
  direction  of  the police force of any city of the first or second class
  in this state, (excepting such cities which  on  December  thirty-first,
  nineteen  hundred  and  ten,  had in force and operation a three platoon
  system) who shall fail to divide such force into three  platoons  within
  the  time  prescribed in section one of this act shall be deemed to have
  forfeited his office and, upon the written petition of  any  citizen  of
  the  city  in which such violation took place, must be removed therefrom
  by the supreme court of the judicial district within which such city  is
  contained.  A  copy  of  such  petition  must be served upon the officer
  accused and he shall have the right to appear and to give  evidence  and
  to be heard in his defense.
§  5.  Any  commissioner of police, superintendent of police, chief of
  police, or other officer or officers, having the management, control  or
  direction  of  the police force of any city of the first or second class
  in this state, and  any  inspector,  captain,  lieutenant,  sergeant  or
  roundsman of the police force of any such city, who shall violate any of
  the  provisions  of  this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon
  conviction thereof shall be punished as prescribed by law.
§ 6. All general or special laws inconsistent with this act,  or  with
  any  part thereof, are hereby repealed. Provided, however, that this act
  shall in no  manner  affect  any  provisions  of  such  laws  concerning
  furlough  or  leave  of absence of policemen or exempting patrolmen from
  obligation to wear uniform when not on actual duty.