Frequently Asked Questions
How do I let the police know that my house will be vacant while I'm on vacation?
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The Community-Oriented Policing Unit (COP Unit) conducts vacant house checks for residents who register by filling out a form and submitting it at police headquarters. A COP officer will be assigned to perform checks on your house by walking around the property to check for any concerns or damage while you’re gone.
How do I submit an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request?
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OPRA requests can be submitted to the Town Clerk’s Office online or by visiting the Town Clerk’s Office in-person at Town Hall, 402 Kearny Avenue.
How do I pay a traffic ticket?
Traffic tickets can be paid in-person at the Violations Bureau window of the Municipal Court. The Municipal Court is located on the top floor of Town Hall, 402 Kearny Avenue.
Traffic tickets can also be paid on-line at www.njmcdirect.com.
How do I contest a ticket or criminal complaint?
Traffic tickets and criminal complaints can be contested in court by appearing on your scheduled court date and entering a “not guilty” plea. You can also enlist the services of an attorney to guide you through this process. County bar associations provide lawyer referral services.
How do I get a copy of an accident or police report?
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Accident reports can be obtained online at www.crashdocs.org.
Inquiries about the availability of other types of police reports can be made by contacting the Record Bureau at (201)955-5372, or by appearing in-person at the Record Bureau, located in the lobby of police headquarters at 237 Laurel Avenue. The Record Bureau is open for public business on Mondays from 9am-3:45pm and Tuesdays thru Fridays from 8am-3:45pm.
My car was towed. Now what do I do?
By State law, the police department can only release an impounded vehicle upon a showing of a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration, and auto insurance card. If you have those items in your possession, take them to the Kearny Police Headquarters lobby at 237 Laurel Avenue. An officer or clerk will give you a release form to bring to the tow yard. Once you present the release form and pay the standard towing fees, the tow truck company will release your car.
If your documents are inside the towed car, you must go to the tow yard and retrieve those documents before presenting them to an officer at police headquarters. Call police dispatch at (201)998-1313 to find out which tow yard is holding your vehicle so you can retrieve your documents. You must then return to police headquarters with those documents to receive your vehicle’s release form.
If you cannot appear at police headquarters personally, you can designate a representative to pick up your vehicle release by indicating your permission in a notarized letter. Your representative must still present a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration, and insurance card with your notarized letter.
How do I submit an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request?
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OPRA requests can be submitted to the Town Clerk’s Office online or by visiting the Town Clerk’s Office in-person at Town Hall, 402 Kearny Avenue.
What job opportunities are available with KPD?
The Town of Kearny follows the employment laws of the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. Interested candidates for police officer positions should take the New Jersey Civil Service examination for police officer and be ranked on a hiring list for future consideration. More information on examinations can be found at the NJ CSC website.
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See kearnynj.org for postings about civilian civil service positions within the police department.
Where can I go for a child car seat inspection?
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Child car seat inspections are performed at State Police, Troop B Headquarters in Totowa and at the Life Safety Complex in Paramus on a staggered schedule. Click for further details.
How do I apply for a gun permit or firearms ID card?
Instructions for firearms ownership matters can be obtained by visiting the our Forms Page.
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For any further questions, please speak with one of the detectives in our BCI Unit at (201)998-1313 ext. 2812. A BCI detective can assist you in navigating the process of requesting a firearms ID card, pistol purchaser permit, change of address, or related requests.
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For frequently asked questions, please also see the State Police Firearms FAQs webpage.
How do I let the police know that my house will be vacant while I'm on vacation?
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The Community-Oriented Policing Unit (COP Unit) conducts vacant house checks for residents who register by filling out a form and submitting it at police headquarters. A COP officer will be assigned to perform checks on your house by walking around the property to check for any concerns or damage while you’re gone.
How do I view the New Jersey Sex Offender Registry?
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The New Jersey Sex Offender Registry is maintained by the New Jersey State Police and can be viewed online by clicking here.
How do I receive alerts on my phone from the Office of Emergency Management?
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Sign up for OEM emergency alerts on your phone by signing up with Swiftreach.
How can I join the Domestic Violence Response Team?
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The Domestic Violence Response Team (DVRT) is a group of citizens who volunteer to be on-call to counsel victims of domestic violence at police headquarters. Training is arranged though the police department. Applications to volunteer can be downloaded here and should be returned to KPD headquarters ATTENTION: PLANNING OFFICE.
I just picked up a copy of my accident report. What do all those code numbers mean around the outside of the report?
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We use an NJTR-1 accident report form which is standardized throughout the State of New Jersey. In order to decipher the codes that we must use in the reports, here is a copy of the NJTR-1 Overlay that can be placed on top of your report.
Is it illegal to block my own driveway in the Town of Kearny?
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The short answer is yes, it is illegal to park in front of your own driveway in the Town of Kearny.
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State law makes it illegal to park in front of a public or private driveway in the State of New Jersey unless a municipality has passed an ordinance making it legal to block one's own driveway within that specific town (See N.J.S.A. 39:4-138d & 39:4-138.3.).
The Town of Kearny currently has no ordinance authorizing parking in front of driveways; therefore the state law prohibiting parking in front of driveways controls and the practice is illegal in Kearny.
When is it too late to make noise?
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We often hear residents quote 10pm as the cutoff time that local ordinance allows for loud noise. While this sounds prudent, in actuality, Town Ordinance 4-12 does not specify a time when residents must generally be quiet, but regulates noise based on its quality.
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"...any excessive, unnecessary or unusually loud noise which either annoys, injures, disturbs or endangers the comfort, health, repose, peace or safety of others within the Town of Kearny; or which are so harsh, prolonged or unusual in their use, time and place as to annoy, disturb, or endanger the comfort, health, repose, peace or safety of others of the Town of Kearny." T.O. 4-12.1a
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The ordinance gets a little more complicated for sound from parks, public places and any sites of celebrations or events approved by the Mayor and Council, all of which events shall require the issuance of a permit by the Department of Recreation. In these cases, in order to comply with State law and County health ordinances, a certified Noise Control Officer must measure the sound to decide if it violates the law.
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T.O. 4-16.2 prohibits the use of domestic power tools outdoors in residential areas between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m (except for public emergencies). It also prohibits the use of heavy equipment used in construction, drilling or demolition work between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday, or at any time on Sundays or holidays (except for public emergencies).
How can I register my loved one who may wander due to a medical condition?
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We occasionally encounter people who wander and become lost due to medical conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease, dementia, or autism. Sometimes we find the people before their caretakers have realized they've gone missing. We've created a registration form for families of such individuals to speed up our ability to notify caretakers and reunite them with their family member.
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After filling out the form, drop it off at police headquarters. Your loved one's contact information and photograph will be uploaded to a file in our internal Computer-Aided Dispatch program to aid patrol officers should the person become lost. The information is used solely for this intended purpose and will not be shared outside of the police department.
My dog got loose and was picked up by Animal Control. How can I claim my dog?
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The Town contracts with Bergen County Animal Control for animal control services. Here is a link to their website.