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

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: higher of officer overtime rate or $80/hour for third-party vendor work; Borough/Board of Education jobs use officer overtime rate Minimum per job: two-hour charge for cancellation/booking within 36 hours Hours: officers may not work beyond approved posted hours absent an emergency extension authorized under the ordinance

The car, and what it costs

The vehicle is priced separately: $20 per hour for police vehicle and fuel

Whether the car may go at all: provided.

In the ordinance's own words: “Effective September 12, 2020, the fee for police vehicle and fuel shall be $20 per hour.”

66 of the 141 New Jersey towns here price the car by the hour, from $5 to $60. Spotswood sits above the middle of them at $20, with 34 charging less.

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: Chief of Police or designee How a job is arranged: requests go to Chief of Police or designee for posting; written estimated hours and advance escrow are required How the officer is paid: Borough escrow/trust account mechanism What is barred: work inconsistent with efficient Department functioning/reputation or presenting unreasonable danger may be denied

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 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 Spotswood'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.

• $20 per hour for police vehicle and fuel

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

What does an off-duty Spotswood police officer cost?

higher of officer overtime rate or $80/hour for third-party vendor work; Borough/Board of Education jobs use officer overtime rate

Does Spotswood charge for the police vehicle?

$20 per hour for police vehicle and fuel

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.