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

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: $85.00 per hour; hours over eight are paid at one-and-a-half times the applicable hourly rate Minimum per job: 4 hours Hours: No officer may work more than 16 hours in two eight-hour shifts in a 24-hour period, subject to Chief/designee emergency approval; total on-duty plus private-contract work may not exceed limits in the Police Manual or other law/regulation.

The car, and what it costs

The ordinance does not put a figure on the vehicle.

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 or designee assigns all off-duty police-related activities under the Chief's policy. How a job is arranged: Chief establishes the off-duty work policy; Chief or designee assigns off-duty police-related activities; requesting private person/entity funds the required escrow arrangement. How the officer is paid: Employer funds are deposited through the Borough arrangement; the code provides for payment of officers from available deposited funds. What is barred: Off-duty work may not interfere with Borough police assignments; further restrictions are incorporated from the Police Manual and Chief's policy.

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 what may be worn.

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

Vehicles

Set by Sayreville'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 Sayreville police officer cost?

$85.00 per hour; hours over eight are paid at one-and-a-half times the applicable hourly rate

Does Sayreville 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.