Lt. Chad Bianco sworn in as new Riverside County Sheriff

A new Riverside County sheriff in town as sheriff’s Lieutenant Chad Bianco was sworn. Bianco was officially sworn in earlier tonight at the old courthouse in downtown Riverside.

He defeated outgoing incumbent Sheriff Stan Sniff in November, ending Sniff’s 11 year tenure.

It comes after a bruising election campaign that got quite snippy at times with both Bianco and Sniff trading barbs at one another.

Bianco ran on a campaign that focused on changing the culture of the sheriff’s department saying morale was low in the department among deputies, something Sniff has disputed. He has gathered the endorsement and large funds from the union representing deputies. Bianco also said he wanted to expand community-oriented policing programs and foster a more productive relationship with the Board of Supervisors as it tries to balance its budget.

Bianco thanked his family for their support in his speech, even taking a selfie with the crowd. He was hopeful for the future of the department.

“I’m promising all of you a better brighter future not only in the department but in the public,” Bianco told the crowd.

In a one-on-one interview with News Channel 3’s Jake Ingrassia, he spoke about the changes he has planned for the department.

“Ultimately, when you really wanna talk about a culture of a department, it’s how we act how we behave and it starts from the top and goes down,” Bianco said.

He said he hopes to repair the relationship between deputies and the sheriff.

“Honestly, it’s happened already. The culture in our department, the attitude of our department, the enthusiasm of our department right now is something that we haven’t seen in years,” Bianco said.

Despite serving in the Sheriff’s Department for 25 years, he has never held elected office.

“There’s going to obviously be challenges,” Bianco said. “I am anxiously awaiting the time where I come upon them so we can just conquer them.”

He says deputy staffing is just one-third of what the department is funded for.

“We are going on an unbelievable increase in hiring,” Bianco said.

One of the hot campaign issues was the $300 million John J Benoit Detention Center in Indio. The jail is now facing construction delays.

“It’s the construction company, it’s the completion of the jail. They’re telling me now it’s going to be April-ish,” Bianco said.

Bianco was asked about how in the past he has highlighted his opposition to sanctuary state legislation.

Bianco responded saying, “The riverside county sheriff’s dept has not and will never engage in immigration enforcement, that is not our job and it never will be.”

“I’m here to protect our immigrant communities,” he added.