2026: Sheriff Juan Figueroa Announces Run for Reelection
Working to make our community stronger, safer, and more united.
Back in 2018, it was time for a course correction in the leadership of the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office. It was time to move away from an “us vs. them” mentality toward one where law enforcement and the community work together as a team.
I promised you then that I would fight the opioid crisis with innovative programs. That I would instill pride in law enforcement by building bridges between the community and officers. That I would ensure our immigrant neighbors felt safe and respected. And that I would create a workforce that reflected diversity, compassion, and collaboration.
I am proud to say that I kept my word.
Yet there is so much more to do. That’s why I am running for re-election in 2022. And I need your help to continue our shared journey toward a community where all people can look to law enforcement as role models and protectors of the peace.
ABOUT JUAN FIGUEROA
★ ULSTER COUNTY SHERIFF
★ 40 year Ulster resident
★ 22 years Marine Corps
★ Combat Veteran
★ 25 years NYS Trooper
My pledge to Ulster
When you elected me Sheriff, I promised to lead with our shared values:
To stop crime before it happens by offering treatment for addicts and second chances for nonviolent offenders. To fight the opioid crisis, build trust between law enforcement and the community, and treat everyone with dignity and respect.
With your support, we will continue our work toward a more just, inclusive, and stronger Ulster County.
Meeting the Challenges
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Opioid Response as County Law Enforcement (ORACLE) was developed in July 2019, to provide community education and create an overdose response team.
With a $900,000 grant, the award-winning ORACLE team expanded to include a social worker and two peer advocates who work with officers to steer addicts into treatment rather than incarceration.
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Sheriff Figueroa supported the Green Light Bill that allows drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants, knowing that it would make us all safer.
Figeruoa changed the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office policy to no longer cooperated with ICE, allowing undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows.
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In response to the killing of George Floyd and the national call for racial justice, all members of the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office participated in the ground-breaking “Officer-Citizen Interaction Training.”
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We are the most diverse workforce in county government, including the first African-American Superintendent of Corrections, the first female Detective Sergeant in the Criminal Division, and most recently the first female Superintendent of Corrections.
Through recruitment and hiring, we have made the Sheriff’s Office look more like the community—women, people of color, and Spanish-speakers have joined our ranks in record numbers. -
Using ORACLE as a model we will implement the Anti-Violence Effort Response Team (AVERT) to tackle gun violence and provide second chances to young offenders.
It will include gun buyback programs, mental health services, GED classes, and job training—whatever it takes to break the cycle of violence. -
Law enforcement is a tough job that taxes the physical and mental health of officers.
We are initiating the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and the Helping Every Responder Overcome (HERO-R) Resilience Project. These programs help officers dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.
We will continue to help our rank and file be at their best both mentally and physically, so they can better serve our community. -
The Covid pandemic upended life as we know it, including in the Sheriff’s Office.
Opioid Overdoses: After years of skyrocketing opioid cases, overdoses fell by 33% after we launched ORACLE in July 2019.
Covid wreaked havoc on our community, leading to soaring overdoses.ORACLE met the crisis stepping up with referrals to peer advocates, to rehab, housing and employment services, and medication for opioid use disorder.
Inmate Safety: When Covid struck in early 2020, contact visits were immediately suspended. Understanding the hardship of not seeing family, Sheriff Figueroa allocated additional funds for inmates to use for phone calls and video calls. As a result of the Sheriff’s quick action, Covid was managed in the jail without any serious illness or death.
Courts Closed: With no jury cases and limited grand juries, the Sheriff’s Office had to manage the tension and anxiety of uncertainty as inmates awaited unscheduled trials. The jail population was in flux, and department staff had to meet these new challenges.
