(TRENTON) NJFOP applauds Governor Phil Murphy for signing A-1400 into law today.

“This new law is a real plus for our members while also providing added protection for students in both public and non-public schools, including county colleges,” says NJFOP President Robert W. Fox.

Fox continued, “We have pushed hard for this additional category and are thrilled that our lobbying efforts have paid off.”

P.L.2016, c.68 established an additional category of “Class Three” special law enforcement officers under the Special Law Enforcement Officers’ Act to provide security in this State’s public and nonpublic schools and county colleges. A person currently is eligible to be appointed as a Class Three special law enforcement officer if he or she is a retired police officer less than 65 years old and has served as a duly qualified, fully-trained, full-time municipal or county police officer or was regularly employed as a full-time member of the State Police within the previous three years. The person also has to be physically capable of performing the job and have the appropriate law enforcement and safe schools resource officer training. These officers may only be employed to assist municipal police departments and are not to be employed to replace or substitute for full-time police officers. They may only be hired in a part-time capacity.

Specifically, this bill authorizes law enforcement officers who served in any law enforcement position eligible for participation in the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, or who served as a law enforcement officer for a federal or bi-state law enforcement agency, to be appointed as a Class Three special law enforcement officer. The bill also removes the requirement that the officer be retired from their law enforcement position within three years of appointment as a Class Three special officer.

The bill further establishes that Class Three special law enforcement officers may not be assigned to an extra-curricular or after-school function at a school or college unless that assignment has first been made available to full-time members employed by the municipality, school, or county college.

Finally, the bill includes county vocational schools in the definition of a county college to clarify that Class Three special law enforcement officers are authorized to serve in county vocational schools.