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

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: general contracted service $80/hour plus $25/hour administrative expense; Byram-funded projects, nonprofits and Board of Education $65/hour plus $25/hour administrative expense Minimum per job: 2-hour cancellation bill if canceled within 24 hours Hours: ordinary outside employment may not exceed 20 hours/week

The car, and what it costs

The vehicle is priced separately: vehicle costs included within $25/hour administrative expense; no separate vehicle-only rate

Whether the car may go at all: included.

In the ordinance's own words: “administrative fee covers "insurance costs, vehicle costs and benefit cost”

66 of the 141 New Jersey towns here price the car by the hour, from $5 to $60. Byram Township sits above the middle of them at $25, with 46 charging less.

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: Chief of Police; ordinary outside employment also requires Township Manager approval How a job is arranged: advance written request on Department forms; Chief furnishes officers on voluntary rotating basis How the officer is paid: requester pays Township CFO; special account transfers to payroll What is barred: outside work may not interfere with performance or create conflict of interest; gratuities prohibited

Vehicles

Set by Byram 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.

• vehicle costs included within $25/hour administrative expense; no separate vehicle-only rate

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

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

general contracted service $80/hour plus $25/hour administrative expense; Byram-funded projects, nonprofits and Board of Education $65/hour plus $25/hour administrative expense

Does Byram Township charge for the police vehicle?

vehicle costs included within $25/hour administrative expense; no separate vehicle-only rate

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.