Deputy Safety Director Charlene Deeken began her career with the City in 1976. She has served in the Department of Personnel, Public Safety, and the Mayor's Office during the Schoemehl Administration. During her tenure with the City, she also worked in the City's Health and Parks departments before re-joining the Department of Public Safety in 1999 as an Executive Assistant.
She served her first stint as Deputy Public Safety Director from 2007 to January 2013, at which time she was appointed Public Safety Director. She returned to the position of Deputy Public Safety Director in January 2014 and then reappointed as Public Safety Director by Mayor Lyda Krewson. In November of 2017 she returned to the position of Deputy Public Safety Director upon the appointment of Judge Jimmie Edwards as Public Safety Director.
Effective April 2, 2021 she was reappointed as Acting Public Safety Director.