Absecon and off-duty police work

Why this is published at all

New Jersey is the only state where you can look up what a patrol car costs on a detail, town by town, and the reason is statutory. The Attorney General and the Division of Local Government Services determined that municipal officers may work off duty for private parties — and state law then requires that the assignment be arranged by contract with the municipality, not with the officer. So the town has to set the price, and it sets it in an ordinance that anyone can read.

So what follows is not a policy manual. It is Absecon's own ordinance, and it says what the town charges.

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: officer $62/hour, of which $55 is officer payment and $7 SSI/FICA; administrative fee $5/hour

The car, and what it costs

The vehicle is priced separately: $10 per hour

Whether the car may go at all: with approval.

66 of the 141 New Jersey towns here price the car by the hour, from $5 to $60. Absecon sits below the middle of them at $10, with 2 charging less.

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: Chief of Police has sole discretion to approve or disapprove applications How a job is arranged: private person/entity files application with Chief; Chief/designee maintains volunteer list and assigns details on rotating basis; approved employer contracts directly with City How the officer is paid: employer pays City; compensation is channeled through Chief Financial Officer and designated fund to officers What is barred: Chief may terminate an assignment creating unacceptable health, safety or welfare risk

What the ordinance does not say

An ordinance sets the terms of the contract between the town and whoever hires the officer. It is not a conduct policy, and this one does not deal with any weekly hour cap.

Those answers, where they exist, sit in the department's own rules and this page has not read them.

Vehicles

Set by Absecon's own ordinance, which is how New Jersey prices off-duty police work — the town contracts with the employer, so the town sets the fee.

• $10 per hour

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.

The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.

Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.

Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play

Common questions

What does an off-duty Absecon police officer cost?

officer $62/hour, of which $55 is officer payment and $7 SSI/FICA; administrative fee $5/hour

Does Absecon charge for the police vehicle?

$10 per hour

Who arranges an off-duty job in New Jersey?

The municipality. State law requires the assignment to be arranged by contract with the town rather than privately with the officer, which is why the town publishes a rate at all.