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

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: 2026 weekday rate $95/hour; Saturday/Sunday/holidays $115/hour; under-24-hour notice $115/hour; $17/hour administrative fee Minimum per job: scheduled minimum; late cancellation under two hours triggers four-hour charge Hours: work over 8 hours in a day is paid at $115/hour; no weekly cap stated

The car, and what it costs

The vehicle is priced separately: $150 first 8 hours or portion; $50 each additional 4-hour increment or portion

Whether the car may go at all: with approval.

In the ordinance's own words: “the private employer shall also pay the Township of Chesterfield a fee of $150 for the first eight hours of usage of said vehicle or any portion thereof”

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

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: Chief of Police; vehicle use also requires Chief approval/consent How a job is arranged: private employer executes Township contract and prepays; Finance Office escrow pays officers during regular payroll How the officer is paid: private employer pays Township; Finance Office disburses through regular payroll What is barred: authorization is limited to security-related and traffic-control activities except Township-awarded contracts

Vehicles

Set by Chesterfield 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.

• $150 first 8 hours or portion; $50 each additional 4-hour increment or portion

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

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

2026 weekday rate $95/hour; Saturday/Sunday/holidays $115/hour; under-24-hour notice $115/hour; $17/hour administrative fee

Does Chesterfield Township charge for the police vehicle?

$150 first 8 hours or portion; $50 each additional 4-hour increment or portion

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.