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

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: 1.5 times Deputy Chief hourly rate under Salary Ordinance; $20/hour administrative fee Minimum per job: 4 hours for late cancellation or completed job under four hours Hours: no officer may work beyond hours funded/posted; no weekly cap stated

The car, and what it costs

The vehicle is priced separately: $300 per eight-hour shift or part thereof

Whether the car may go at all: provided.

In the ordinance's own words: “Fee for police vehicle and fuel per eight-hour shift or part thereof: $300.”

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

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: Chief of Police or designee How a job is arranged: Chief/designee approves employment and estimated hours; employer establishes Off-Duty Employment Escrow Account; requests are posted through Chief/designee How the officer is paid: employer funds Borough escrow; officer is treated as Borough employee for assignment What is barred: employment must not interfere with regular/emergency duty, damage Department efficiency/reputation, or unreasonably endanger officers

Vehicles

Set by Carlstadt'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.

• $300 per eight-hour shift or part thereof

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

What does an off-duty Carlstadt police officer cost?

1.5 times Deputy Chief hourly rate under Salary Ordinance; $20/hour administrative fee

Does Carlstadt charge for the police vehicle?

$300 per eight-hour shift or part thereof

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.