1. (a) The appointing agency shall ensure a thorough investigation into the applicant’s moral character is completed by an experienced investigator pursuant to the procedures set forth in paragraph (b) of this section.

   1. (1) An applicant is determined to lack good moral character, and be unfit to serve as a police officer, if within three years from the date of application the applicant has engaged in:

      1. (i) criminal activity, whether or not criminally charged or prosecuted, regardless of where the act took place, if said conduct would constitute an offense in New York, which is defined as:

         1. (a) any felony offense;
         2. (b) any sex offense or sexually violent offense as defined in article 6C of the Correction Law;
         3. (c) all serious offenses defined in subdivision 17 of section 265 of the Penal Law;
         4. (d) crimes involving official misconduct and obstruction of public servants as defined in article 195 of the Penal Law; crimes involving bribery of a public servant as defined in article 200 of the Penal Law; crimes involving perjury as defined in article 210 of the Penal Law; crimes relating to judicial proceedings as defined in article 215 of the Penal Law;
         5. (e) crimes involving forgery as defined in article 170 of the Penal Law; crimes involving false written statements as defined in article 175 of the Penal Law; crimes involving fraud as defined in article 190 of the Penal Law;
         6. (f) crimes involving assault and menacing as defined in article 120 of the Penal Law; crimes involving obscenity as defined in article 235 of the Penal Law; crimes against public sensibilities as defined in article 245 of the Penal Law;
      2. (ii) the unlawful use of any controlled substances;
      3. (iii) false statements or conduct that subverts or attempts to subvert the police employment application process;
      4. (iv) a dishonorable discharge from any of the Armed Forces of the United States.

   2. (2) An agency may determine an applicant lacks good moral character and is unfit to serve as a police officer if the applicant has engaged in the following conduct which may be considered an indicator of a lack of good moral character:

      1. (i) the unlawful use of any controlled substances more than three years from the date of application. The agency may consider the type of controlled substance used, the frequency of use and the age of the applicant at the time of use;
      2. (ii) inappropriate sexual conduct regardless of adjudication;
      3. (iii) conduct involving dishonesty, deceit, or misrepresentation;
      4. (iv) historical pattern of conduct of moving traffic violations;
      5. (v) any of the conduct listed in paragraph (1) of this section which has occurred more than three years from the date of application and the agency has determined that the conduct is an indicator that the applicant lacks good moral character;
      6. (vi) any other conduct that the agency determines is a reflection on the applicant’s moral character.

2. (b) The investigator responsible for determining an applicant’s moral character as defined in paragraph (a) of this section must conduct a thorough background investigation to include but not be limited to:

   1. (1) a comprehensive application and personal history statement completed by the applicant that addresses each of the components of moral character defined in paragraph (a) of this section;
   2. (2) a fingerprint-based criminal history check of the applicant;
   3. (3) at a minimum a review of information provided by: family, personal references, educational institutions, previous employers, prior neighbors or landlords, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Armed Forces of the United States, organizations and affiliations, court records, credit agencies, and law enforcement agencies in jurisdictions where the applicant has lived or worked;
   4. (4) an in-person interview of the candidate that covers each of the components of moral character as defined in paragraph (a) of this section;
   5. (5) a search of the Police and Peace Officer Registry maintained by the division for any prior employment history in New York State; the National Decertification Index (or its successor), which serves as the national registry of certificate or license revocation actions relating to officer misconduct.
3. (c) The recommended administration of a polygraph examination, unless prohibited by law. The administration of a polygraph examination is recommended for determining a candidate’s moral character as part of the background investigation.
4. (d) All records pertaining to the background investigation of all police officers employed by the agency shall be retained by the employing agency and shall be available for review by the division.
5. (e) The moral character findings set forth in paragraph (a) of this section as determined by the investigator in paragraph (b) of this section shall be presumed to be true unless the applicant presents evidence contradicting the findings and such evidence would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the presumption is no longer valid.

The council establishes the following background investigation standards and procedures to determine whether a candidate is of good moral character.