PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Port St. Lucie will have a new top cop at the end of the month.
After an 11-year run as chief of police, John Bolduc is stepping down.
"A former police chief told me, 'You'll know,'" Bolduc said Tuesday. "This job requires 100% effort 150% of the time."
He leaves a city that is often ranked as one of, if not the safest, in the state. It's also an agency that has seen a 56% drop in crime since 2012.
"I'm very, very proud of that, but I can't take credit for it, it's the staff here," Bolduc.
The city appointed Assistant Chief Richard Del Toro as acting chief.
He takes the reigns May 1 of a force patrolling the state's seventh largest city.
"[I am] just looking forward to carrying the mantle forward and hopefully making him (Bolduc) proud in the future," Del Toro said Tuesday.
The city's population is booming, increasing from 88,769 in 2000 to 217,523 in the most recent census estimate from 2021.
Del Toro said moving forward that the biggest issue facing the department is hiring and recruiting.
The department has one of the lowest officer-to-population ratios in the state with 1.2 officers per 1,000 people.
Del Toro would like to get that number to be closer to the national average of two officers per 1,000 people.
"We're going to take that head-on. We don't have a lack of applicants," Del Toro said. "I think our biggest issue that the chief and I discussed is streamlining the hiring process, so we can get people on board faster."
This transition though could just be a short-term solution.
Del Toro is running for St. Lucie County sheriff in 2024, but he said that doesn't change his focus.
"My top priority is being the acting chief of police and leading this organization into the future," he said.
"There really isn't a change," City Councilman Anthony Bonna said. "It's a continuation of the same leadership that has kept our community safe."
It will be up to the city manager to evaluate the position again next year.
As for the outgoing chief, he won't completely disconnect, remaining as a reserve officer while looking to spend more time with family.
