§ 846-H — Law enforcement agency accreditation council; membership; organization and procedure

§ 846-h. Law enforcement agency accreditation council; membership;\norganization and procedure. 1. (a) There shall be, within the division,\na law enforcement agency accreditation council.\n (b) The council shall develop model standards for law enforcement\nagencies. Such standards shall be designed:\n (i) To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement\nagencies in the delivery of law enforcement services utilizing existing\npersonnel, equipment and facilities to the extent possible;\n (ii) To promote increased cooperation and coordination among law\nenforcement agencies and other agencies of the criminal justice system;\n (iii) To ensure the appropriate training of law enforcement personnel,\nnot inconsistent with other provisions of law; and\n (iv) To promote public confidence in law enforcement agencies.\n (c) The council shall recommend rules and regulations establishing an\naccreditation process that encourages and provides law enforcement\nagencies with a voluntary opportunity to demonstrate that they meet the\nmodel standards developed by the council. The accreditation process\nshall provide that applications for accreditation shall be submitted by\nthe chief law enforcement officer of the agency so applying only upon\nthe approval of the chief elected officer, or if there is no chief\nelected officer, by the local governing body. Such model standards and\nrules and regulations shall be transmitted to the temporary president of\nthe senate, the speaker of the assembly, every law enforcement agency,\nmayor and appropriate town and county official in the state on or before\nApril first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine. The rules and regulations in\nfinal form shall be transmitted to the governor on or after June first,\nnineteen hundred eighty-nine and shall be effective following their\napproval by the governor.\n (d) The council shall create a mandatory certification process for\nagencies employing police officers, as defined in paragraphs (b), (c),\n(d), (e), (f), (j), (k), (l), (o), (p), (s) and (u) of subdivision\nthirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law. Such\ncertification process shall include the promulgation of mandatory\nstandards for hiring practices, which shall incorporate the rules and\nregulations promulgated by the municipal police training council\npursuant to subdivisions two and two-b of section eight hundred forty of\nthis chapter, as well as the reporting requirements under subdivision\ntwo of section eight hundred forty-five of this chapter and subdivision\nfive of section seventy-five of this chapter, as may be applicable to\nsuch agencies and their personnel.\n (e) The council may, on its own or upon referral from the\ncommissioner, revoke or withhold the granting of the certification under\nparagraph (d) of this subdivision for an agency that fails to adhere to\nthe mandatory standards for hiring practices or reporting requirements\nof such paragraph.\n 2. (a) The law enforcement agency accreditation council shall consist\nof:\n (i) Two incumbent sheriffs of the state;\n (ii) Two incumbent chiefs of police;\n (iii) One incumbent deputy sheriff;\n (iv) One incumbent police officer;\n (v) The superintendent of state police;\n (vi) The commissioner of police of the city of New York;\n (vii) One incumbent chief executive officer of a county of the state;\n (viii) One incumbent mayor of a city or village of the state;\n (ix) One incumbent chief executive officer of a town of the state;\n (x) One member of a statewide labor organization representing police\nofficers as that term is defined in subdivision thirty-four of section\n1.20 of the criminal procedure law;\n (xi) One full-time faculty member of a college or university who\nteaches in the area of criminal justice or police science;\n (xii) Two members appointed pursuant to subparagraph (ix) of paragraph\n(c) of this subdivision;\n (xiii) One incumbent chief of police or commissioner of police from a\nmunicipality in the state with a police department consisting of more\nthan one hundred officers;\n (xiv) One incumbent sheriff in the state from an agency with more than\none hundred deputy sheriffs;\n (xv) One representative of victims of crime; and\n (xvi) One representative from a community with high numbers of police\nan community interactions.\n (b) With the exception of the superintendent of state police and the\ncommissioner of police of the city of New York, each member of the\ncouncil shall be appointed by the governor to serve a two-year term. Any\nmember appointed by the governor may be reappointed for additional\nterms.\n (c) The governor shall make appointments to the council as follows:\n (i) Each member who is an incumbent sheriff of the state shall be\nchosen from a list of two eligible persons submitted by the New York\nstate sheriffs' association;\n (ii) Each member who is an incumbent chief of police shall be chosen\nfrom a list of two eligible persons submitted by the New York state\nassociation of chiefs of police;\n (iii) The member who is an incumbent deputy sheriff shall be chosen\nfrom a list of two eligible persons submitted jointly by the New York\nstate sheriffs' association and the New York state deputy sheriffs'\nassociation, inc.;\n (iv) The member who is an incumbent police officer shall be chosen\nfrom a list of two eligible persons submitted jointly by the New York\nstate association of chiefs of police and a statewide labor organization\nrepresenting police officers as that term is defined in subdivision\nthirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law;\n (v) The member who is an incumbent chief executive officer of a county\nof the state shall be chosen from a list of two eligible persons\nsubmitted by the New York state association of counties;\n (vi) The member who is an incumbent mayor of a city or village of the\nstate shall be chosen from a list of two eligible persons submitted by\nthe New York state conference of mayors;\n (vii) The member who is an incumbent chief executive officer of a town\nof the state shall be chosen from a list of two eligible persons\nsubmitted by the association of towns of the state of New York;\n (viii) The governor may appoint any eligible person to be a member who\nis an active member of a statewide labor organization representing\npolice officers;\n (ix) The temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the\nassembly shall each nominate one member as provided in subparagraph\n(xii) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision; and\n (x) the members who are listed in subparagraphs (xiii), (xiv), (xv),\nand (xvi) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be appointed by the\ngovernor.\n (d) In making such appointments, the governor shall select individuals\nfrom municipalities that are representative, to the extent possible, of\nthe varying sizes of communities and law enforcement agencies in the\nstate.\n (e) Any member chosen to fill a vacancy, including a vacancy in the\nchairperson, created otherwise than by expiration of term shall be\nappointed by the governor for the unexpired term of the member he is to\nsucceed. Any such vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the\noriginal appointment.\n (f) Any member who shall cease to hold the position which qualified\nhim for such appointment shall cease to be a member of the council.\n 3. Each member of the council shall have one vote, which shall not be\ntransferrable; provided, however, that the superintendent of state\npolice may designate a deputy superintendent to attend meetings as his\nrepresentative and cast his vote and the commissioner of police of the\ncity of New York may designate his first deputy commissioner, chief of\ndepartment or one of the five bureau chiefs to attend meetings as his\nrepresentative and cast his vote.\n 4. The governor shall designate from among the members of the council\na chairperson who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. During a\nvacancy of the chairperson the commissioner of the division of criminal\njustice services shall serve as the temporary chairperson.\n 5. The law enforcement agency accreditation council shall meet at\nleast four times in a year. Special meetings may be called by the\nchairperson and shall be called by him at the request of the governor or\nupon the written request of ten members of the council. The council may\nestablish its own quorum rules and procedures with respect to the\nconduct of its meetings and other affairs not inconsistent with law;\nprovided, however, that recommendations made by the council in\naccordance with paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section, or the\nmandatory standards for hiring practices promulgated in accordance with\nparagraph (d) of subdivision one of this section shall require the\naffirmative vote of ten members of the council.\n 6. Membership on the law enforcement agency accreditation council\nshall not constitute the holding of a public office, and members of the\ncouncil shall not be required to take and file oaths of office before\nserving on the council.\n 7. The members of the law enforcement agency accreditation council\nshall receive no compensation for their services but shall be allowed\ntheir actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their\nfunctions hereunder.\n 8. No member of the law enforcement agency accreditation council shall\nbe disqualified from holding any public office or employment, nor shall\nhe forfeit any such office or employment, by reason of his appointment\nhereunder.\n 9. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have\nthe following meanings:\n (a) The term "law enforcement agency" shall mean any agency or\ndepartment of any municipality, any police district, or any agency,\ndepartment, commission, authority or public benefit corporation of the\nstate of New York employing a police officer or police officers as that\nterm is defined in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (j), (k),\n(l), (o), (p), (s), and (u) of subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20\nof the criminal procedure law.\n (b) The term "chief of police" shall mean a chief of police,\ncommissioner of police, or other official having equivalent cognizance,\njurisdiction, supervision and control of a police department of a\nmunicipality of the state.\n (c) The term "deputy sheriff" shall mean a deputy sheriff employed by\nthe sheriff's department of any county outside the city of New York who\nhas police officer status as defined in subdivision thirty-four of\nsection 1.20 of the criminal procedure law.\n (d) The term "police officer" shall mean a police officer as defined\nin subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure\nlaw.\n 10. On or before January first, nineteen hundred ninety, and on or\nbefore January first of each succeeding year, the commissioner shall\nreport to the governor, temporary president of the senate and speaker of\nthe assembly on the operation and results of the accreditation program.\nSuch report shall identify these law enforcement agencies making\napplication for accreditation, the agencies so accredited, and the\nfiscal impact on law enforcement agencies that have been accredited.\n