West New York 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 West New York's own ordinance, and it says what the town charges.

What the ordinance charges

What the officer's time costs: security details $55/hour; roadwork/construction rate established by the article as amended

The car, and what it costs

The vehicle is priced separately: police vehicle usage fee is established per day per assigned vehicle; exact current figure not stated in the portion verified

Whether the car may go at all: provided.

In the ordinance's own words: “establish a police vehicle usage fee per day per police vehicle assigned”

Most of the 141 towns here price the car by the hour or by the day; West New York does neither, which is why the figure reads the way it does.

How the work is arranged

Who approves it: Mayor, Director of Public Safety, or Chief Executive Officer for security details as described How a job is arranged: security details may be requested by a private establishment or created by the Mayor, Director of Public Safety, or Police Chief Executive Officer in agreement with the establishment

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, any weekly hour cap or what kinds of employer are off limits.

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

Vehicles

Set by West New York'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.

• police vehicle usage fee is established per day per assigned vehicle; exact current figure not stated in the portion verified

Every agency here, side by side on vehicles →

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Common questions

What does an off-duty West New York police officer cost?

security details $55/hour; roadwork/construction rate established by the article as amended

Does West New York charge for the police vehicle?

police vehicle usage fee is established per day per assigned vehicle; exact current figure not stated in the portion verified

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.