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

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: $120/hour per officer; Borough retains $20/hour administrative fee; third-party vendor cost additional if used Minimum per job: 4 hours

The car, and what it costs

The vehicle is priced separately: $25 per vehicle for up to 8 hours

Whether the car may go at all: with approval.

In the ordinance's own words: “The rate for the use of a police vehicle (marked or unmarked) shall be $25 per vehicle, for up to a maximum eight hours.”

Most of the 141 towns here price the car by the hour or by the day; East Newark 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 maintains volunteer rotation list, assigns details; private party executes written contract and prepays Borough trust fund; third-party administrator may be used How the officer is paid: private employer pays Borough trust fund; officers are paid on next regular pay date after approved pay slip What is barred: Chief/designee may terminate assignment that creates unacceptable health, safety or welfare risk; work is limited to police-related security, traffic control or similar functions

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 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 East Newark'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.

• $25 per vehicle for up to 8 hours

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

What does an off-duty East Newark police officer cost?

$120/hour per officer; Borough retains $20/hour administrative fee; third-party vendor cost additional if used

Does East Newark charge for the police vehicle?

$25 per vehicle for up to 8 hours

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.