Sharonda Morris, a veteran law enforcement for the Newark Department of Public Safety, has been a member of the city’s police division for 23 years, rising through its ranks to recently become Deputy Director of Police Operations.

Morris takes on her new assignment in a career anchored by hard-earned promotions that have prepared her for this day.

She joined the force in 1998 as a West District foot patrol officer, who moved up to detective two years later in 2000. She held that post eight years, a productive stint in the Human Resources Department, where Morris was fiscally responsible and observant.

Morris monitored the police divisions’ overtime schedule and, during an audit project, she discovered outstanding funds the division had not been paid from the state of New Jersey for outside employment.

Her meticulous skillset didn’t go unnoticed when she became a sergeant in 2008. Over the next eight years, Morris led several police districts, supervised patrol units, implemented strategizes to track and reduce crime, and managed the police division’s finances.

In 2016, she was transferred to the Office of Professional Standards as an investigative sergeant. That role, however, didn’t last long as her professional value grew. In short order, Morris was promoted to lieutenant, then Executive Officer in 2017, continuing to showcase a leadership pedigree that would be recognized again.

Morris, a graduate of University High School in Newark and Rutgers University-Newark, was promoted to Captain in 2020 until Mayor Ras J. Baraka tapped her for the job she now holds - Deputy of Director of Police Operations.