A year after taking office following one of Florida\u2019s most controversial sheriff\u2019s elections, St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro says his focus remains on rebuilding trust and preparing for unprecedented growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe it\u2019s been a year already,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cI\u2019m living my dream, and if I\u2019m sleeping, do not wake me up, because I\u2019m having the best dream of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Del Toro assumed the role on Jan. 7, 2025, after campaigning on promises to restore accountability and transparency following intense criticism of his predecessor\u2019s social media use, transparency with the publicandspending.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hit the ground running right away,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cI mean, we instituted a reorganization here that just changed the entire structure. The structure of the organization really had not changed in the last 40 years under the previous three sheriffs. So that was something that just needed to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reorganization separated the agency into operations and administration divisions and increased supervision at multiple levels. Del Toro said the changes have created an expectation of excellence rather than making it the exception.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re implementing our standards of performance, which we said from day one was going to help us with our goals of becoming the safest county in the state of Florida,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s office also straightened out pay plans that had been \u201cpretty much upside down,\u201d hurting recruiting and retention efforts. Del Toro credited county commissioners for providing the budget money needed to make the agency competitive with other law enforcement agencies in the region.<\/p>\n
Rebranding<\/p>\n
The sheriff said he immediately shifted focus away from personal branding toward core law enforcement duties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of the biggest changes I did, was I took my name off of everything,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cIt\u2019s just our brand is the St. Lucie County Sheriff\u2019s Office. That\u2019s it. It\u2019s not about me. No one\u2019s going to buy into the changes we want to make, and I don\u2019t think it sends the right message to the organization.\u201d <\/p>\n
Preparing for explosive growth<\/p>\n
St. Lucie County\u2019s population<\/a>is expected to grow<\/a>from its current 270,000 residents to 600,000 in the coming years. Del Toro said his experience dealing with growth during his 27-year career at the Port St. Lucie Police Department, where he served as chief, prepared him for this challenge.\u201cWhen I started at the city of Port St. Lucie 27 years ago, we were 70,000 residents. It was a bedroom community. We\u2019re now 270,000 residents just in that part of the city alone,\u201d Del Toro said.The sheriff\u2019s office is now developing a strategic plan to address growth while maintaining public safety within budget constraints, including determining how many deputies need to be added and focusing on leadership development for younger supervisors who will lead the agency in the future.\u201cWe want to be the safest county, have the highest standards and values and be fiscally transparent, responsible with our budget,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be focused … on how we need to change in order to handle the growth in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n Emergency preparedness improvements<\/p>\n