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

The car, and what it costs

The ordinance does not put a figure on the vehicle.

Whether the car may go at all: provided or expressly contemplated.

In the ordinance's own words: “Contract must state fees for use of Borough-owned equipment.”

122 of the 141 New Jersey ordinances here put a figure on the vehicle. This one does not.

This agency23

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.

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: Police Director or, if none, Chief of Police How a job is arranged: Contractor enters Borough contract; escrow dedicated to payment of off-duty officers. How the officer is paid: municipal/escrow or contract procedure where stated What is barred: assignment is subject to Chief/Department approval and regular/emergency-duty needs where stated

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 who carries the liability, what may be worn or 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 Caldwell'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.

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

What does an off-duty Caldwell police officer cost?

The ordinance sets the rate; the figure is in the section linked below.

Does Caldwell charge for the police vehicle?

The ordinance does not put a figure on the vehicle.

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.