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

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: security $80/hour; traffic $100/hour 6 a.m.-6 p.m. and $110/hour 6 p.m.-6 a.m.; emergency fee $10/hour; Township fee 10%; management fee 7.75% Minimum per job: four hours generally; Board of Education jobs three hours; traffic work between four and eight hours is billed at eight hours Hours: detailed assignment limits are set in the ordinance/management system; verified text states jobs exceeding eight hours receive an added $10/hour fee but does not state a weekly cap

The car, and what it costs

The vehicle is priced separately: $10 per hour for all billable hours

Whether the car may go at all: provided.

In the ordinance's own words: “Vehicle Fee - $10 Per Hour: Any extra duty employment that requires the use of a Township police vehicle shall have a $10 per hour fee added for the use of the vehicle for all billable hours”

66 of the 141 New Jersey towns here price the car by the hour, from $5 to $60. Edison sits below the middle of them at $10, with 2 charging less.

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: Chief of Police or designee; Chief may assign, suspend, revoke, or deny extra-duty work How a job is arranged: third-party Management Company web portal/phone handles requests, scheduling, assignment by rotation algorithm, invoicing, and officer clock-in How the officer is paid: Management Company bills client; Township and management fees are distributed as specified by ordinance/contract What is barred: SLEO III officers may not engage in Extra Duty employment; Chief may deny work

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.

Those answers, where they exist, sit in the department's own rules and this page has not read them.

Vehicles

Set by Edison'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.

• $10 per hour for all billable hours

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

What does an off-duty Edison police officer cost?

security $80/hour; traffic $100/hour 6 a.m.-6 p.m. and $110/hour 6 p.m.-6 a.m.; emergency fee $10/hour; Township fee 10%; management fee 7.75%

Does Edison charge for the police vehicle?

$10 per hour for all billable 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.