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

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: Officers engaged in special-duty assignments are deemed on duty and conform to Division rules. Minimum per job: see rate/terms field where stated; otherwise not stated in verified section

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: “Business Administrator/designee may assign patrol vehicle when necessary.”

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

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: Business Administrator or designee How a job is arranged: Special-duty assignments are approved/administered by Township procedure. How the officer is paid: municipal trust/escrow/payroll process where stated What is barred: subject to Department/Township approval, regular/emergency-duty needs, conflict and safety restrictions 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 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 Jackson 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.

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

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

Officers engaged in special-duty assignments are deemed on duty and conform to Division rules.

Does Jackson Township 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.