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

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: “Police vehicle(s) may be requested and Township-vehicle costs are included in advance escrow.”

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: Chief of Police How a job is arranged: Application to Chief/designee; sufficient funds deposited in CFO escrow before assignment. How the officer is paid: municipal/escrow or contract procedure where stated What is barred: assignment is subject to Chief/Department approval and regular/emergency-duty needs 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 who carries the liability, what may be worn 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 Raritan 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 →

BlueShifts. Plan Your Year. Own Your Time.

The shift calendar built for your rotation, off-duty work, and life on and off the clock.

Save your shift schedule once and BlueShifts fills the rest of the year in.

Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play

Common questions

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

The ordinance sets the rate; the figure is in the section linked below.

Does Raritan 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.