Morris Sheriff Ed Rochford hanging up his badge, after 51 years in law enforcement

CHANGING HATS: Morris Sheriff Ed Rochford will wear a top hat as Grand Marshal of the 2013 Morris County St. Patrick's Parade.
CHANGING HATS: Morris Sheriff Ed Rochford will wear a top hat as Grand Marshal of the 2013 Morris County St. Patrick's Parade.
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By Kevin Coughlin

Morris County Sheriff Ed Rochford will retire in December, ending a 23-year run as sheriff and 51 years in law enforcement.

CHANGING HATS: Morris Sheriff Ed Rochford will wear a top hat as Grand Marshal of the 2013 Morris County St. Patrick's Parade.
Morris Sheriff Ed Rochford is calling it a career.

“Fifty one years in the same profession is a long, long time!” Rochford, 71, said in a statement released on Tuesday.

“My goal when I became sheriff back in 1993, was to take a good sheriff’s office to a higher level. With the officers and employees I have had throughout the years, coupled with the management philosophy I have always maintained, we were able to accomplish just that,”  he said.

For years, Rochford was a star in the Morris County GOP, defeating 18-year incumbent John Fox in the 1992 primary and winning re-election seven times.

Things turned rocky over the last couple of years, however.  The freeholders stripped Rochford of his oversight of the Morris County Jail after questioning big raises he gave to corrections officers.

And a potentially tough primary battle loomed this spring against James Gannon, a Boonton resident who formerly headed up investigations for the Morris Prosecutor’s Office.

But the jail consistently has garnered high marks from accreditation agencies, a source of pride for Rochford, who became a Morris Township police officer in 1965 and rose to deputy chief before winning the sheriff’s job.

Former Morris County Sheriff John Fox, left, with his successor, Sheriff Ed Rochford. Photo by Berit Ollestad
The late John Fox, left, with his successor, Morris Sheriff Ed Rochford, in 2014. Photo by Berit Ollestad

“The Morris County Sheriff’s Office earned the prestige of being the first nationally accredited sheriff’s agency in the state of New Jersey in 1998,” Rochford said.

“Further, I credit current and former employees for their loyalty and dedication in achieving the Crown Jewel in law enforcement by receiving the coveted Triple Crown Award from the National Sheriffs’ Association for simultaneously being accredited by three national associations in law enforcement and corrections.”

Only 36 sheriff’s offices out of more than 3,000 nationwide have received the award; the Morris sheriff’s office has won it for 12 straight years, according to Rochford.  The Morris County Jail has been ranked in the top 1 percent of U.S. prisons regularly since 2004, he added.

Grand Marshal Ed Rochford and his wife Diana at the 2013 Morris County St. Patrick's Parade. Photo by Robyn Quinn
Grand Marshal Ed Rochford at the 2013 Morris County St. Patrick’s Parade. Photo by Robyn Quinn

Last fall, Rochford became the first person in law enforcement to serve a half-century entirely in Morris County. In addition to numerous law enforcement honors, he was named Grand Marshal of the 2013 Morris County St. Patrick’s Parade.  Later this year, he is scheduled to receive the Boy Scouts of America Lifetime Achievement Award.

Travel is high on Rochford’s list of retirement plans.

“I am an avid baseball fan and I have always wanted to visit every major league baseball stadium in the country. I will work on knocking this off my bucket list!”

 

 

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