Jonathan Hart rises through the ranks to assume role as NHSO Chief Deputy

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — After nearly three decades, a man from the Cape Fear has risen through the ranks of law enforcement to become chief deputy for the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office.

Jonathan Hart began his career at the Pender County Sheriff’s Office in 1997. After two years, he moved to the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office in 1999 and has remained there ever since.

“I started in the Patrol Division. Then in 2002, I went to the Vice Narcotics Division, where I spent a majority of about 18 years of my career working in drug enforcement,” said Hart.

After assuming his first leadership role in 2007 while working in Internal Affairs, Hart began to work closely with the sheriff. This gave him the chance to gain an understanding of the sheriff’s vision. Hart’s experience climbing through the ranks of the sheriff’s office, coupled with working alongside the sheriff, prepared him to take on the role of chief deputy on February 1.

“Law enforcement’s been my passion. I joined law enforcement shortly after I turned 21 years old. Serving the community is something that I got pleasure in. I got joy from the enforcement side, the patrol side, and the investigative side, but I never thought I’d make it to the rank of chief deputy,” said Hart.

Hart hopes to utilize all he has learned in his nearly 27 years in law enforcement to effectively support officers and the sheriff as he runs day to day operations at the sheriff’s office.

“It puts everything, a lot of things into perspective. I’ve seen everything from the bottom now up to the top,” said Hart. “I really want to be focused on officer well being. I want to look at the retention of our agency, encourage other people to join our sheriff’s office.”

The chief deputy has worked with the sheriff to create a position solely focused on officer wellbeing. They’ve transformed the colonel’s role to specialize in safety, wellness and morale of the sheriff’s office.

“We identified one of our senior staff members and we have promoted them,” said Hart. “We have assigned them to officer wellness to make sure that we’re giving the mental health to our officers, the physical health to our officers, the tools that they need to be successful in their jobs.”

More than a job, Hart hopes the officers will see working for the sheriff’s office as a lifelong, fulfilling career.

For information on vacancies at the sheriff’s office, click here.