Loading...
1876 ORD PROVIDING FOR REGULATION OF SPECIAL POLICE WITHIN COPpFtDINANCE NO. 1876 AN ORDIN.ANCE PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION OF SPECIAL POLICE WTTHIN THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; PROVIDING FOR DEFINITI(1NS, LI.• CENSE REQUIREMENTS, APPLICATION FOR LICENSE, INVESTIGATION BY CHIEF OF POLICE, STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE OF LICENSE, STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO EMPLOYEES, NOTICE OF REJECTION, APPEAL, PROCEDURE3 LICEIVSE FEE, CONDITIONS OF LICENSING, BQND, PROMULGATION OF REGU•• LATIONS BY CHIEF OF.POLICE2 DUTIES OF LICENSEE; PROVIDING FOR A FINE NOT TO EXCEED $200,00; PROVIDING FOR A CUMULATIVE PROVISION; PROVIDING FOR A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF JULY 29, 1968. SECTION: 1; Definitions 2: License Required 3; Application for License 4: Investigation by Chief of Police 5: Standards for Issuance of License 6; Standards Applicable to Employees 7; Notice of Rejection g; Appeal Procedure 9; License Fee 10: Conditions of Licensing 11: Bond 12: Promulgation of Regulations by Chief of Police 13: Duties of License2 14: Penalty 15: Cumulative Provision 16: Savings Clause 17 ; Effective Date BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS: SECTION l: DEFINITIONS: For the purposes of this Ordinance the following terzns, phrases, words and derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular and words in the singular include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory. (A) City: "City" is the City of Paris, Paris, Texas. (S) Person: "Person" is any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organizatio n of any kind. (C) Special police officer: The term "special police officer", as used herein, shall include all private guards, private patrols, patrol systems, night watch services and burglar alarm services, private detec. tives and private investigators, together with each member and employee thereof. (D) Private Detective or Private Investigator: The term "private detective or private investigator" shall mean any person whose business it is to de- tect criminals or discover matters of secrecy or pernicious import for the use or benefit of those who choose to employ him and pay his compensation, but shall not mean insurance adjustors or persons seeking information for the principal purpose of adjusting insurance or other claims. (D) Such other lawful matters as he considers pertinent and proper to arriving at a fair and lawful conclu- sion with respect to such application for license. (E) The Chief of Police shall not issue a license here- under when th e appli cant is not a natural born o r fully naturalized citizen of the United States and has not been a bona fide resident of the State of Texas for one year just preceding filing of this application. SECTION 6: STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO EMPLOYEES: All employees of any person having or applying for a license hereunder shall meet the standards set forth above and shall be subject to all the re- gulations of this Ordinance. SECTION 7: NOTICE OF REJECTION: The Chief of Police shall act upon an application for a special police officer license within thirty (30) days after the filing thereof. If the Chief of Police disapproves the application, he shall mail by certified mail, re» turn receipt requested, to the applicant within thirtytifive (35) days af ter the date upon which the application was filed, a notice of his actions, stating the date upon which the application was filed, a notice of his actions, stating the reasons for his denial of permit. SECTION 8: APPEAL PROCEDURE: Any person aggrieved shall have the right to appeal the denial of a special police officer li- cense to the City Council. The appeal sh.all be taken within thirty (30) days after notice of the denial is received by the applicant. The City Council shall act upon the appeal within thirty (30) days af ter its receipt. SECTION 9: LICENSE FEE: A license shall be issued to a successful applicant upon payment of a license fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each firm of special police officers and ten dollars ($10.00) for each individual applicant. SECTION 10: CONDITIONS OF LICENSING: (A) Transferability. Licenses issued hereunder shall not be transferable. (B) Revocation and Suspension. Licenses issued here- under shall be subject to revocation or suspension by the Chief of Police for violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance or misconduct by the licensee or his employees, after reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard has been given to the licensee. The Chief of Police shall immediately notify any licensee, by personal service of such suspension or revocation. Reasonable notice here- under shall be in writing and for a period of ten (10) days f rom receipt by personal service or by U. S. Mai19 return receipt requested. (C) Renewal. The Chief of Police shall issue renewal licenses to all licensees whose licenses have not been suspended at the time said licenses have ex- pired, upon payment of the license fee. (D) Term of license. Al1 licenses issued hereunder shall be for a term of one year. SECTION 11: BOND: (A) Required. No license shall be is sued hereunder unless the appli cant files with the City a surety bond executed by such applicant with two (2) or more sufficient sureties, o r by a surety company authorized to do business in the State of Texas, in the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00), or such other financial security as may be approved by the City Attorney of the City, conditioned upon the careful, faithful and honest conduct of the services to be performed by the qplicant, or his or its employees, and such bond shall be approved by the City Attorney of the City as to form, exe- cution and sufficiency of sureties. (B) PraLaction to Public. The bond or approved surety required herein shall be taken in the name of the people of the State of Texas; and every person injured by the negligence, wilfi:l, malicious or wrongful act of the principal, his agent, servant, or employee, in the business of special police officer, may bring an action on the bond in his own name to recover damages for such negligent, wilful, malicious or wrongful act. (C) Suspension of L.icense on Failure of Security, The Chief of Police shall suspend any license when the bond or other approved financial se- curity required herein shall have lapsed or is reduced by reason of a judgment thereon, or for any other reason is no longer in full force and effect. SECTION 12: PROMUI.GATION OF REGULATIONS BY CHIEF OF POLICE: The Chief of Police shall have the authority to enact and enforce reasonable rules and regulations for the operation of special po- lice officers in the City in the interest of public safety, morals and welfare and to effectuate the general purpose of this Ordinance. Licensees hereunder shall not be peace officers as such term is defined by Vernon's Annotated Code of Criminal Procedure, Art, 2.12, but shall enjoy and exercise all rights and duties regarding arrest as do pxivate citizens. SECTION 13: DUTIES OF L:CCENSEE: (A) Carry and Post License Certificates. The licensee hereunder shall cause a certificate of such license to be displayed at all times in a conspicuous place in or on his place of business described in such license. The licensee shall carry on his person at all times when performing services as a special police officer a certificate of the license issued hereunder. (B) Impersonation of State Police Officers. No special police officer licensed hereunder shall impersonate or hold himself out as a peace officer of this State or of its political subdivisions. (C) Additional Duties. It shall be the duty of all li- censees hereunder to: (1) Report daily in writing, to the Chief of Police all arrests made by their employees. (2) Obey the orders of the Chief of Police in an emergency. (3) When allowed to carry arms, to do so only when on duty at the premises or district guarded or patrolled. (4) When on patrol or guard, to wear proper uniforms, said uniforms for said special police officers to be of a different color and design from those worn by the City Police Department and the I,amar County Sheriff's Department and to be approved by the Chief of Police. (5) Each guard or patrolman shall wear a shoulder patch on the upper left sleeve bearing the name of the special police organization to which he belongs o SECTION 14: PENA.LTY: Any person who shall violate or fail to comply with any provision of this Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00). SECTION 15: CUMULATIVE PROVISION: That the provisions of this Ordinance-above set out shall be deemed cumulative of the provisions and regulations contained in the Ordinances of the City of Paris, save and except that where the provisions of this ordinance are in conflict with the provisions elsewhere in said Ordinances of the City of Paris, then the provisions contained herein shall prevail. SECTION 16: SAVINGS CLAUSE: It is hereby declared to be the intention.of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sen•• tences, clauses, and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this or« dinance shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect any of the re•- maining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any uncon«. stitutional or invalid phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs or sections. SECTION 17: EFFECTIVE DATE: This o rdinan ce shall become effective on July 29, 1968. Passed and adopted this 8th day of July, 1968. J, `es R. Moo re, D, S. C. , Mayor ATTEST: H. . Gree e, City Clerk Published in The Paris Piew~. APP OV~ED TO FORM . on .,tA-~-,~-~ ~ Per Art. I, Sec. 33, Chartes T. K. Hayn s, City Atto rney SECTION 2: LICENSE REQUIRED: No person shall operate as a special police officer in the City without first obtaining a li» cense as hereinafter provided from the Chief of Police. SECTION 3: AFPLICATION FOR LICENSE: Application for li. censes issued hereunder shall be made upon blank forms prepared and made available by the Chief of Police and shall state as follows: (A) The full name, age, present and previous residence, present and previous occupations of the applicant, (B) Whether the person signing the application is a citizen of the United States. (C) A specific description of the location of the principal place of business of the applicant, (D) The number of years the applicant has spent as a special police officer or in related fields, (E) The length of time that the applicant has been a bona fide resident of Lamar County and the State of Texas immediately preceding the f iling of the application. (F) Military experience of applicant and type of discharge. (G ) Such other informatio n as the Chi ef of Folice shall find reasonably necessary to effectuate the general purpose of this Ordinance and to make a fair de- termination as to whether or not the terms of this Ordinance have been complied with. (H) The extent of the area in which the business is to operate. The applicant must be fingerprinted and photographed by the P'olice Department of the City of Paris. SECTION 4: INVESTIGATION BY CHIEF OF POLICE: GV'ithin fifteen (15) days.after receipt_of an application_as provided for herein, the Chief of Police shall cause an investigation to be made of the applicant and his proposed op eration. SECTION 5: STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE OF LICENSE: Befo re approving.ox disapproving any license the Chief of Folice shall consider the following: (A) Whether the applicant has been convicted of a felony or any offense against the decency and morals of the community, or on renewal of license, for the violation of any of the provisions of this Ordinance during the year next preceding the fil.• ing of this application. (B) Whether or not the applicant is of good moral character, and his reputation as a peaceable, law•»abiding citizen. (C) Whether or not the applicant was a former member of the Paris Police Department or any oth er law enforcement agency, or formerly employed as any special police officer an d released for cause.