FALL RIVER — The Paul Heroux era is officially underway at the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office.

Heroux was sworn in by Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin on Tuesday evening at a ceremony at Durfee High School in Fall River to succeed longtime sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who led the department for the past 25 years.

Hodgson narrowly lost his bid for a fifth term in office to the Attleboro mayor this past November.

“I may have been one side’s candidate, but now I am everyone’s sheriff,” Heroux said.

Still, the new sheriff thanked his predecessor for his 25 years of service to the people of Bristol County. He said Hodgson was “a gentleman and professional” during the post-election transition and for personally giving a tour of the Dartmouth jail on Dec. 27.

“He’s been very gracious — very cordial the entire time,” Heroux said. 

A former prison administrator in Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, Heroux said he plans to use that background in order to begin evaluating programs at the Dartmouth and New Bedford facilities in order to learn what works and what doesn’t in hopes of setting up inmates for “successful reentry” into the public.

“Few correctional facilities in the nation measure outcomes,” he said. “We need to be appropriately self-critical.”

The sheriff noted that inmates are often paroled based in part on their participation in treatment programs. He said if programs don’t work, “someone not ready for release might do something no one wants.”

“This is not an academic issue, this is about public safety,” he said.

Heroux also promised to measure the rate of recidivism among inmates and how to reduce it. Heroux said that housing, employment, and health care are the main pillars he hopes to use in order to bring those numbers down.

Another goal, Heroux said, is to find ways to reduce the number of suicides in the county’s jails.  

According to the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, at least 16 people died by suicide between 2006 and 2017 while in the custody of the Bristol County House of Correction — the highest number in the state during that period.

As his tenure begins, Heroux said he plans to bring in “qualified, outside help to look at this.”

One immediate change Heroux said he will make is establishing a new position at the jail: Director of Inmate Services. According to Heroux, this administrator will oversee matters related to medical services, food, education, rehabilitation programs, and discharge planning.

The director will also report directly to the sheriff.

“I’m not inventing anything new,” Heroux said. “It’s basically what we did back in Philadelphia and what’s being done at MassDOC — we’re just trying to do that here.”

Additionally, the newly inaugurated sheriff  said he plans to be transparent about how his administration operates

“Services offered under me are going to be made public to a degree we have not seen before,” he said. “It is about reporting on our efforts in a meaningful way that will give the public full confidence that we are delivering results.”

Heroux added that he plans to invite the public to tour the Dartmouth and New Bedford facilities.

“I want anyone interested in seeing and learning about the conditions of confinement to have that opportunity,” he said.

During the recent tour with Hodgson, Heroux said he was surprised to see how conditions were “not as bad” as inmates and activists have described.

“It looked like a lot of jails and correctional facilities I’ve been to in the past,” he said. “I don’t think they did anything special to welcome me to that jail — it looks like what it looks like. But there’s a lot more I’d like to see.”

To end his remarks, Heroux promised to serve no more than two terms and affirmed that during that time, he will be a sheriff for all.

“At the core of what we do in corrections is God’s work,” he said. “Whether you supported me or not, I hope you like the work that is done and that the results are delivered. Time to get to work tomorrow.”