Sec. 29-162. Compact. The New England State Police Compact is hereby entered
into and enacted into law with any and all of the states legally joining therein in the
form substantially as follows:
NEW ENGLAND STATE POLICE COMPACT
Article I
Purposes
The purposes of this compact are to:
1. Provide close and effective cooperation and assistance in detecting and apprehending those engaged in organized criminal activities;
2. Establish and maintain a central criminal intelligence bureau to gather, evaluate
and disseminate to the appropriate law enforcement officers of the party states information concerning organized crime, its leaders and their associates;
3. Provide mutual aid and assistance in the event of police emergencies, and to
provide for the powers, duties, rights, privileges and immunities of police personnel
when rendering such aid.
Article II
Entry Into Force and Withdrawal
(a) This compact shall enter into force when enacted into law by any three of the
states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Thereafter, this compact shall become effective as to any other of the aforementioned states upon its enactment thereof.
(b) Any party state may withdraw from this compact by enacting a statute repealing
the same, but no such withdrawal shall take effect until one year after the governor of
the withdrawing state has given notice in writing of the withdrawal to the Governors of
all other party states. No withdrawal shall affect any liability already incurred by or
chargeable to a party state prior to the time of such withdrawal, and any records, files,
or information obtained by officers or employees of a withdrawing state shall continue
to be kept, used, and disposed of only in such manner as is consistent with this compact
and any rules or regulations pursuant thereto.
Article III
The Conference
(a) There is hereby established the "New England State Police Administrators' Conference", hereinafter called the "Conference", to be composed of the administrative
head of the state police department of each party state.
(b) If authorized by the laws of his party state, the administrative head of the state
police department of a party state may provide for the discharge of his duties and the
performance of his functions on the Conference, for periods none of which shall exceed
fifteen days, by an alternate. No such alternate shall be entitled to serve unless notification of his identity and appointment shall have been given to the Conference in such
form as the Conference may require.
(c) An alternate serving pursuant to subdivision (b) of this article shall be selected
only from among the officers and employees of the state police department, the head
of which such alternate is to represent.
(d) The members of the Conference shall be entitled to one vote each. No action of
the Conference shall be binding unless taken at a meeting at which a majority of the
total number of votes on the Conference are cast in favor thereof. Action of the Conference shall be only at a meeting at which a majority of the members of the Conference,
or their alternates, are present.
(e) The Conference shall have a seal.
(f) The Conference shall elect annually, from among its members, a chairman, (who
shall not be eligible to succeed himself) a vice chairman, and a treasurer. The Conference
shall appoint an Executive Secretary and fix his duties and compensation. Such Executive Secretary shall serve at the pleasure of the Conference, and together with the Treasurer shall be bonded in such amount as the Conference shall determine. The Executive
Secretary also shall serve as general secretary of the Conference.
(g) Irrespective of the civil service, personnel or other merit system laws of any of
the party states, the Executive Secretary subject to the direction of the Conference, shall
appoint, remove or discharge such personnel as may be necessary for the performance
of the Conference functions, and shall fix the duties and compensation of such personnel.
(h) The Conference may establish and maintain independently or in conjunction
with any one or more of the party states, a suitable retirement system for its full time
employees. Employees of the Conference shall be eligible for Social Security coverage
in respect of Old Age and Survivor's Insurance provided that the Conference takes such
steps as may be necessary pursuant to the laws of the United States, to participate in
such program of insurance as a governmental agency or unit. The Conference may
establish and maintain or participate in such additional programs of employee benefits
as may be appropriate. Employment by the Conference of a retired officer or employee
of a party state shall not affect the pension or other retirement-connected benefits paid
to such officer or employee by a party state.
(i) The Conference may borrow, accept or contract for the services of personnel
from any party state, the United States, or any subdivision or agency of the aforementioned governments, or from any agency of two or more of the party states or their
subdivisions.
(j) The Conference may accept for any of its purposes and functions under this
compact any and all donations, grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and
services, conditional or otherwise, from any state, the United States, or any other governmental agency, or from any person, firm or corporation, and may receive, utilize and
dispose of the same. The Conference shall publish in its annual report the terms, conditions, character, and amount of any resources accepted by it pursuant hereto together
with the identity of the donor.
(k) The Conference may establish and maintain such facilities as may be necessary
for the transacting of its business. The Conference may acquire, hold, and convey real
and personal property and any interest therein.
(l) The Conference shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of its business and shall have
the power to amend and rescind these bylaws. The Conference shall publish its bylaws
in convenient form and shall file a copy thereof and a copy of any amendment thereto,
with the appropriate agency or officer in each of the party states. The bylaws shall
provide for appropriate notice to the Conference members of all Conference meetings.
(m) The Conference annually shall make to the Governor and legislature of each
party state a report covering the activities of the Conference for the preceding year, and
embodying such recommendations as may have been issued by the Conference. The
Conference may make such additional reports as it may deem desirable.
Article IV
Conference Powers
The Conference shall have power to:
(a) Establish and operate a New England Criminal Intelligence Bureau, hereinafter
called "the Bureau", in which shall be received, assembled and kept case histories,
records, data, personal dossiers, and other information concerning persons engaged or
otherwise associated with organized crime.
(b) Consider and recommend means of identifying leaders and emerging leaders of
organized crime and their associates.
(c) Facilitate mutual assistance among the state police of the party states pursuant
to Article VII of this compact.
(d) Formulate procedures for claims and reimbursements, pursuant to Article VII
of this compact.
(e) Promote cooperation in law enforcement and make recommendations to the
party states and other appropriate law enforcement authorities for the improvement of
such cooperation.
(f) Do all things which may be necessary and incidental to the exercise of the foregoing powers.
Article V
Disposition of Records and Information
The Bureau established and operated pursuant to Article IV (a) of this compact is
hereby designated and recognized as the instrument for the performance of a central
criminal intelligence service to the state police departments of the party states. The files,
records, data and other information of the Bureau and, when made pursuant to the bylaws
of the Conference, any copies thereof shall be available only to duly designated officers
and employees of the state police departments of the party states acting within the scope
of their official duty. In the possession of the aforesaid officers and employees, such
records, data, and other information shall be subject to use and disposition in the same
manner and pursuant to the same laws, rules and regulations applicable to similar records, data, and information of the officer's or employee's agency and the provision of
this compact.
Article VI
Additional Meetings and Services
The members of the Conference from any two or more party states, upon notice to
the chairman as to the time and purpose of the meeting, may meet as a section for
the discussion of problems common to their states. Any two or more party states may
designate the Conference as a joint agency to maintain for them such additional common
services as they may deem desirable for combatting organized crime.
Except in those cases where all party states join in such designation for common
services, the representative of any group of such designating states in the Conference
shall constitute a separate section of such Conference for the performance of the common
service or services so designated provided that, if any additional expense is involved,
the state so acting shall provide the necessary funds for this purpose. The creation of
such a section or joint agency shall not affect the privileges, powers, responsibilities or
duties of the states participating herein as embodied in the other articles of this compact.
Article VII
Mutual Aid
(a) As used in this Article:
1. "Emergency" means an occurrence or condition, temporary in nature, in which
the state police department of a party state is, or may reasonably be expected to be,
unable to cope with substantial and imminent danger to the public safety, and in which
the cooperation of or aid from local police forces within the state is, or may reasonably
be expected to be insufficient. Also "emergency" shall mean a situation in which an
investigation of an aspect of organized crime, or events connected with organized crime
require augmentation, for a limited time, of the investigative personnel of the state police
department from without the state.
2. "Requesting state" means the state whose state police department requests assistance in coping with an emergency.
3. "Responding state" means the state furnishing aid, or requested to furnish aid,
pursuant to this Article.
(b) In case of emergency, upon the request of the administrative head of the state
police department of a party state, the administrative head of the state police department
of each responding state shall order such part of his state police forces as he, in his
discretion, may find necessary, to aid the state police forces of the requesting state in
order to carry out the purposes set forth in this compact. In such case, it shall be the
duty of the administrative head of the state police department of each responding state
to issue the necessary orders for such use of state police forces of his state without the
borders of his state, and to direct such forces to place themselves under the operational
control of the administrative head of the state police department of the requesting state.
(c) The administrative head of the state police department of any party state, in his
discretion, may withhold or recall the police forces of his state or any part or any member
thereof, serving without its borders.
(d) Whenever any of the state police forces of any party state are engaged outside
their own state in carrying out the purposes of this compact, the individual members so
engaged shall have the same powers, duties, rights, privileges and immunities as members of the state police department of the state in which they are engaged, but in any
event, a requesting state shall save harmless any member of a responding state police
department serving within its borders for any act or acts done by him in the performance
of his duty while engaged in carrying out the purposes of this compact.
(e) All liability that may arise under the laws of the requesting state or under the
laws of the responding state or under the laws of a third state on account of or in connection with a request for aid, shall be assumed and borne by the requesting state.
(f) Any responding state rendering aid pursuant to this compact shall be reimbursed
by the requesting state for any loss or damage to, or expense incurred in the operation
of any equipment answering a request for aid, and for the cost of the materials, transportation and maintenance of state police personnel and equipment incurred in connection
with such request: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall prevent any responding
state from assuming such loss, damage, expense or other cost.
(g) Each party state shall provide, in the same amounts and manner as if they were
on duty within their state, for the pay and allowances of the personnel of its state police
department while engaged without the state pursuant to this compact and while going
to and returning from such duty pursuant to this compact.
(h) Each party state providing for the payment of compensation and death benefits
to injured members and the representatives of deceased members of its state police
department in case such members sustain injuries or are killed within their own state,
shall provide for the payment of compensation and death benefits in the same manner
and on the same terms in case such members sustain injury or are killed while rendering
aid pursuant to this compact.
Article VIII
Finance
(a) The Conference shall submit to the Governor or designated officer or officers
of each party state a budget of its estimated expenditures for such period as may be
required by the laws of that party state for presentation to the legislature thereof.
(b) Each of the Conference's budgets of estimated expenditures shall contain specific recommendations of the amount or amounts to be appropriated by each of the party
states. The total amount of appropriations under any such budget shall be apportioned
among the party states as follows: One-third in equal shares; one-third divided among
the party states in the proportions that their populations bear to the total population of
all the party states; and one-third divided among the party states in the proportions that
the major crimes committed in each party state bear to the total number of major crimes
committed in all the party states. In determining population pursuant to this paragraph,
the most recent decennial census compiled by the United States Government shall be
used. Numbers of major crimes shall be as reported in the most recent annual "Uniform
Crime Report" compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States
Department of Justice, or by any agency which may assume responsibility for such
compilation in the place of such Bureau. In the event that any source of information
required to be used for the purpose of this paragraph shall be discontinued, the Conference shall make its calculations on the basis of the best alternative sources of information
and shall identify the sources used.
(c) The Conference shall not pledge the credit of any party state. The Conference
may meet any of its obligations in whole or in part with funds available to it under
Article III (j) of this compact, provided that the Conference takes specific action setting
aside such funds prior to incurring any obligation to be met in whole or in part in such
manner. Except where the Conference makes use of funds available to it under Article
III (j) hereof, the Conference shall not incur any obligation prior to the allotment of
funds by the party states adequate to meet the same.
(d) The Conference shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements.
The receipts and disbursements of the Conference shall be subject to the audit and
accounting procedures established under its rules. However, all receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the Conference shall be audited yearly by a qualified, public
accountant and the report of the audit shall be included in and become part of the annual
report of the Conference.
(e) The accounts of the Conference shall be open at any reasonable time for inspection by duly constituted officers of the party states and any persons authorized by the
Conference.
(f) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to prevent Conference compliance
with laws relating to audit or inspection of accounts by or on behalf of any government
contributing to the support of the Conference.
Article IX
Construction and Severability
This compact shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate the purposes thereof. The
provisions of this compact shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence or
provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any state or
of the United States or the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or
circumstance is held invalid, validity of the remainder of this compact and the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance shall not be affected
thereby. If this compact shall be held contrary to the constitution of any state participating
herein, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining party states
and in full force and effect as to the state affected as to all severable matters.
(1967, P.A. 315, S. 1.)