How police departments are watching over moonlighting cops, in charts.

About the data

Journalists with the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University and CBS News obtained and examined moonlighting and related policies from more than 100 law enforcement agencies around the country, comparing the policies against recommended best practices and reviewing those findings with policing experts. In many cases, it was straightforward to determine whether or not a particular department's policy forbids or allows a certain practice, but in others, it was less clear and additional reporting was required. Reporters reached out to each police agency directly to verify findings and address any practices not explicit in the written policies. The policy documentation obtained from each department is available for download at the hyperlinks above. In a handful of instances, reporters determined that the additional details and nuance gleaned from talking directly with departments were important to publish for fairness and accuracy. Those extra notes are provided below.

Does the policy require the tracking of total off-duty employment hours worked by officers?

• Riverside County Sheriff’s Office (Riverside, Calif.) - No, it only tracks extra duty hours pursuant to normal overtime procedures.
• Aurora Police Department (Aurora, Calif.) - No, it has a limit to the number of hours officers can work secondary employment, however the policy does not note that those hours are tracked.
• Boulder County Sheriff’s Dept. (Boulder, Colo.) - No, its policy notes that while it's not required by policy they do still track them.
• Fort Collins Police Dept. (Fort Collins, Colo.) - No, but this information is tracked via their employee time tracking technology.
• Chicago Police Dept. (Chicago, Ill.) - No, except for captains, lieutenants and sergeants, who must track/note their hours in the department outside employment form prior to working secondary employment.
• Columbus Police Dept. (Columbus, Ohio) - No, however the policy requires personnel to mark in and out of service when working special duty, which can be tracked if needed.

Does the policy require that an officer's history be checked before they are approved for off-duty employment?

• Sacramento Police Dept. (Sacramento, Calif.) - No, but it requires officers to submit an application to work supplemental employment and officers with disciplinary/conduct issues are not allowed to work supplemental employment.
• Illinois State Police (Chicago, Ill.) - No, but requires an extra note that supervisors will make a recommendation to the commander to approve or deny officers, and both the supervisor and commander have access to the officer’s history and may take it into account. Supervisors will also conduct semi-annual reviews of personnel engaged in secondary employment April 1 and October 1. A month prior to the semi-annual review, the OHR will provide a list to each division/command of ISP employees engaged in secondary employment.
• Quincy Police Dept. (Quincy, Mass.) - No, but officers are reviewed every three years to ensure they are in good standing for all types of work.
• Houston Police Dept. (Houston, Texas) No, but it requires yearly check of their standing.
• Suffolk County Police Dept. (Suffolk, N.Y.) - No, but a policy does require an internal affairs review first.

Does the policy limit the number of off-duty employment hours that officers can work?

• Chicago Police Dept. (Chicago, Ill.) - No, but requires a note that hours are limited for some officers.

Does the policy allow official uniforms or equipment for off-duty employment?

• Chicago Police Dept. (Chicago, Ill.) - No, however with special permission it is allowed in some cases.
• Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Rolling Meadows, Ill.) - No, but exceptions may be made only with written consent of the Sheriff or respective department head.
• Illinois State Police (Springfield, Ill.) - No, but requires extra note that the singular equipment they will allow on an officer's person once they start secondary employment is their ISP issued weapon (Per ORD-001). It's also required that they carry their ID and star anytime they carry this weapon, but they don't display either during secondary employment.

Does the policy require the use of body-worn cameras on off-duty employment?

• Quincy Police Dept. (Quincy, Mass.) No, the department does not utilize BWC for any type of employment.