A veteran New Jersey State Police leader is taking the reins of Newark’s Department of Public Safety. Retired Lt. Col. Fritz Fragé is the city’s new public safety director, overseeing about 2,000 employees, including police officers, firefighters and civilian workers. The 54-year-old Fragé is the city’s first Black and immigrant director of the merged department.
Fragé is a 24-year veteran of the State Police and a Marine Corps veteran; he holds a masters in public administration from Seton Hall University. He’s stepping into the role as Newark is experiencing a roughly 8% increase in overall crime for the first half of this year compared to last.
