Bridgewater Township 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 Bridgewater Township's own ordinance, and it says what the town charges.

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: rate schedule adjusted pursuant to current PBA collective bargaining agreement; administrative/equipment charge established by CFO/Director of Finance Hours: only during off-duty hours and when it will not interfere with regular/emergency duty

This agency78

Median of the 48682

Largest here33,721

One of 48 city departments here with a traced figure. Each number is what that agency itself publishes, so some are authorized strength and some are actual headcount — useful for scale, not an exact comparison.

The car, and what it costs

The vehicle is priced separately: administrative/equipment charge set by CFO/Director of Finance; current numeric vehicle-only rate not stated

Whether the car may go at all: not separately stated.

In the ordinance's own words: “An administrative and equipment charge established from time to time by the Township of Bridgewater Chief Financial Officer/Director of Finance.”

Most of the 141 towns here price the car by the hour or by the day; Bridgewater Township does neither, which is why the figure reads the way it does.

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: Chief of Police approves extraneous employment How a job is arranged: third-party employer estimates hours/officers; CFO establishes client escrow in Police Outside Services trust before work How the officer is paid: Township remits established amount on next normal biweekly pay cycle after escrow payment What is barred: employment is only in capacity as police officer under Chapter 203

Vehicles

Set by Bridgewater Township'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.

• administrative/equipment charge set by CFO/Director of Finance; current numeric vehicle-only rate not stated

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

What does an off-duty Bridgewater Township police officer cost?

rate schedule adjusted pursuant to current PBA collective bargaining agreement; administrative/equipment charge established by CFO/Director of Finance

Does Bridgewater Township charge for the police vehicle?

administrative/equipment charge set by CFO/Director of Finance; current numeric vehicle-only rate not stated

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.