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

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: festivals/events officer $75/hour, supervisor $85/hour, incident/event commander $95/hour; protective/traffic/work-zone and weekend/holiday $100/hour; Board of Education/City-funded $55/hour; $10/hour City administrative fee Minimum per job: 4 hours generally; Board of Education/City-funded 2 hours

The car, and what it costs

The vehicle is priced separately: $10 per hour per vehicle

Whether the car may go at all: provided.

In the ordinance's own words: “Police vehicles will be billed at an additional charge of $10 per hour per vehicle.”

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

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: estimated hours submitted to Chief of Police or designee How a job is arranged: outside employer pays City or designated secondary service provider; secondary provider may schedule, invoice and receive escrow/payments How the officer is paid: City or designated secondary service provider; payment generally next pay period after funds received What is barred: officers remain subject to all Police Department rules, regulations, orders and directives

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 or 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 Passaic'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 per vehicle

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

What does an off-duty Passaic police officer cost?

festivals/events officer $75/hour, supervisor $85/hour, incident/event commander $95/hour; protective/traffic/work-zone and weekend/holiday $100/hour; Board of Education/City-funded $55/hour; $10/hour City administrative fee

Does Passaic charge for the police vehicle?

$10 per hour per 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.