Rosie Cordero-Stutz was sworn in on Tuesday as Miami-Dade County's newest sheriff, the first one in over 60 years.
The republican was elected to the seat in November, and is now the first woman to ever hold the post.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
>
WATCH HEREThe Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office unveiled a new badge Monday and changed the signage outside police headquarters – all signs of a three-year transition from the Miami-Dade Police Department to the sheriff's department.
Cordero-Stutz has been with Miami-Dade Police for 28 years, starting as a patrol officer, working in robbery and homicide and moving up the ranks as a sergeant, lieutenant, and major to now assistant director.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
>
SIGN UP
Cordero-Stutz captured at least 56% of the vote in November, defeating Democrat and the current Chief of Public Safety for Miami-Dade James Reyes.
Cordero-Stutz said her priorities involved putting more officers on the street, expanding the department's corruption unit, and developing officers' response to mental illness calls while also supporting officers' mental wellness.
But Sheriff-elect Cordero-Stutz said to not anticipate a new look.
Local
"We will be keeping our brown gowns," she said. "I think it is important for our community as we shift to the Office of the Sheriff that they still sense some history and some sense of continuity."
In addition to the sheriff's office, the supervisor of elections, office of the tax collector, property appraiser, and clerk of the court and comptroller have become constitutional positions that are now partisan, with each run independently from Miami-Dade County government. Heads of those departments will answer to voters as opposed to the county mayor.
"It’s the independence of the office of the sheriff, the ability to be responsive directly to our community in a manner that is very quick and efficient," Cordero-Stutz said.
According to a county memo, the sheriff's office will begin the design of a new Eureka sheriff's substation in southwest Miami-Dade. It will provide police services to unincorporated areas and contracted municipalities, and the office will execute processes and orders from courts and the county commission.
County officials expect the public to notice very little change with the new constitutional positions. However, Cordero-Stutz looks to increase the presence of uniform patrols on the road.
The transition officially starts Tuesday when she is sworn in as the new Miami-Dade County Sheriff.
Transitioning will take about three years because there are hundreds of vehicles, dozens of buildings and several thousand officers that need new branding for the new sheriff's office.
