Errol D. Toulon Jr.

Errol D. Toulon Jr. was raised in The Bronx, New York. His parents are Errol Sr. and Alma. His father was a deputy commissioner in the New York City Department of Corrections and his mother worked in education.[2] In the late 1970s, "Junior" served for two years as a batboy for the New York Yankees.[3][4]

He graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School and earned a Master of Business Administration degree at Dowling College in 2007. He went on to earn an Advanced Certificate in Homeland Security Management from Long Island University. Toulon completed his Doctorate in Educational Administration from Dowling College in 2011.

With over 300,000 votes cast, Toulon was elected with 49.56% of the vote in 2017 in his bid for Suffolk County Sheriff, defeating challenger Larry Zacarese.[5] On January 12, 2018 Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. was sworn into office by New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.[2] He became the first African-American elected to any nonjudicial countywide office in Suffolk County.[1] As Sheriff, Toulon has focused on combating gangs and the opioid epidemic, implementing programs to fight recidivism, and providing access to community programs for Suffolk County residents.[6]

Toulon served as the Assistant Deputy County Executive for Public Safety under the administration of County Executive Steve Bellone. From this position, he oversaw 10,000 employees and an operating budget of $2.5 billion. the Suffolk County Police Department, Fire Rescue and Emergency Services, the Probation Department, the Medical Examiner's Office, and the Traffic and Parking Violations Agency.[7]

Toulon spent 22 years as a uniformed Member of Service with the New York City Department of Correction at Riker’s Island, where he served as a supervisor and instructor at the Correction Academy, the Firearms and Tactics Unit, Emergency Service Unit and Office of Compliance Consultants.

In July 2014, Toulon was named Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the New York City Department of Corrections.[8] As Deputy Commissioner of Operations, he oversaw 10,000 employees (uniformed and civilian) and an operating budget of $1.8 billion. He acted as senior advisor to the commissioner on all aspects of operations and system improvements and directly supervised the department's Correction Academy, the Correction Intelligence Bureau, the Operations Security Intelligence Unit, the Fusion Center, the Office of Emergency Management, the Fire & Safety Unit, the Policies and Procedures Unit, the Nutritional Services Unit, the Environmental Health Unit, the Financial and Engineering Auditing Unit, PREA, and the Office of Policy Compliance. His main objective was focusing on improving management and strategy.[9]

On April 26, 2023, Sheriff Toulon launched the Corrections Intelligence Center on the grounds of the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Yaphank. According to Toulon, this center is the first-of-its-kind jail intelligence network that shares data, trends, best practices, and potential threats across jails and prisons.[10] The Corrections Intelligence Center is fully staffed with specially trained Corrections Intelligence Officers from participating agencies including New York State Department of Correction and Community Supervision, New York City Department of Corrections, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, Westchester Department of Corrections and Morris County (NJ) Sheriff’s Office. The center also includes remote participation from 20 additional Counties in the regional area that are participating in bi-weekly roundtables in addition to receiving immediate alerts to potential threats and trends.[11]

"This is a critical tool in stopping the flow of drugs into our jails, and ultimately into our neighborhoods," the sheriff said at a press conference held in Yaphank with law enforcement and correction officials from across the state. "We will completely revolutionize, and really look to destroy, criminal networks in our community."[11]

Sheriff Toulon also announced plans to expand the CIC to national and international partners.[12] "There are no boundaries," he said, "and we have to share information. There should not be silos in what we do," Toulon said.[11]

In April 2018, Toulon started a new chaplaincy program to assist in times of need for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office Staff.  The 10 Chaplains, from various religious faiths were sworn in at the Yaphank Correctional Facility.[13]

According to the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office,[14] the purpose of the Sheriff’s Chaplaincy Program is to provide interfaith emotional and spiritual counsel to Sheriff’s Office employees and their families during times of need and heightened stress.

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office has started a program that tries to fill the needs of older men jailed at the county correctional facility. The Senior Rehabilitation Pod Program is believed to be the first in the nation to segregate male inmates 50 and older from younger inmates to better concentrate on services more suited to the older inmates' needs. The program offers a wide range of services — everything from 12-step programs to employment counseling to mental health services — dedicated to improving the quality of older inmates’ lives while they are in jail and when they are released.[15]

In 1979 the Youth Enlightenment Seminar (YES) Tours were established at the Riverhead Correctional Facility. The Community Relations Unit of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office, conducts the Y.E.S. Tours. Although the Sheriff's Office is interested in raising the consciousness of all Suffolk County youth regarding the realities of criminal behavior and imprisonment, the main target population is composed of those adolescents who are on the verge of becoming involved or becoming more deeply involved in criminal activity and criminal association.[16]

As part of the program, the students receive a tour of the correctional facility and engage in a dialogue with a select group of inmates who have been involved in the system and are willing to share their experiences with the visiting youth.[17]

According to the Community Relations Unit of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office, the goals of the YES Tours are to help adolescents realize how easily antisocial criminal behavior can lead to prison, to offer support to parents, churches, and all those who are attempting to work with these adolescents, and to foster an awareness that only through work and education can life's most meaningful goals be accomplished.[16]

In November 2018, The Yaphank Correctional Facility opened its doors to student tours for the first time in a Youth Enlightenment Seminar (YES) tour. The students toured the facility and had the opportunity speak with inmates about making good choices.[18]

Toulon is a two time cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1996 and with pancreatic cancer in 2003.[2] His first wife, Susan, died after 29 years of marriage. They had two children. He remarried in 2016.[2]