By: | July 25, 2025 | Features | Monmouth County
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by Emma Sylvia
Life has a funny way of being swayed in one direction or another. Turning left instead of right can have changes that ripple across one’s entire future. Many years ago, when a young Raymond Santiago pondered the possibilities of life ahead of him, he originally aimed to be an architect and began sketching the skyscrapers of the city skyline he saw from his home in Brooklyn. He had other aspirations too however – and was ultimately encouraged by his grandfather to go to law school, which he did, eventually becoming a prosecutor.
Santiago, the current Monmouth County Prosecutor, has been living in Monmouth County for 23 years. Santiago studied at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, achieving his BS in Legal Studies before attending law school.
“When I ultimately made the decision, my grandfather was the main person who encouraged me,” Santiago recalls. “When I took my first constitutional law class, it solidified what my passion would be.”
After graduating law school at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, he was afforded the opportunity to become a prosecutor in New York. Like many of his contemporaries, he started by handling lower-level offenses before moving on to more serious offenses. He moved to New Jersey with his family, commuting to the New York City area. After many years of grueling four to eight hours commutes in the car each day, Santiago resigned his position before opening his own private practice, maintaining that for 20 years.
In September of 2022, Santiago received the nomination for the role of Monmouth County Prosecutor, and after briefly serving as Acting Prosecutor, he was fully confirmed to a full five-year term that November on the New Jersey Senate floor.
The instant changes were stark: No longer in charge of just a small office, Santiago was now working with nearly 280 people and 50 police departments. He welcomed the new challenge, however: “I feel like it was a great foundation for me to assume the role, all without skipping a beat.”
The TV show “Law and Order” may have caused the general public to have a skewed perception of what he does for work.
“The unique thing about NJ in relation to other places, is that [in other states] the person who is the head of the agency who prosecutes is the District Attorney, who is elected. Here, it’s by gubernatorial appointment,” Santiago explains. “My role is to be the head law enforcement officer of the whole county. That allows me to be involved with every agency in the county. I make sure that I’m involved with the chiefs of police here, and we work together with local, county, state or even federal agencies as well.”
Day-to-day life is filled to the brim for Santiago. “I joke and say that I plan out my day for what I’m going to do, and by 8:30 in the morning, that plan has already been interrupted by three or four different obstacles.” In a county as large as Monmouth, both issues and opportunities arise on a daily basis – and it’s up to Santiago to dictate how his agency responds to those issues. After a series of meetings, policies (and their changes), initiatives and pending and ongoing cases, Santiago ensures to meet with community leaders and leaders of faith in order to maintain those crucial relationships. Santiago’s color-coordinated calendar, as he describes, is a rainbow of what he does on a daily basis.
Ever since stepping into this role three years ago, Santiago has been ecstatic to bring change to Monmouth. “I’m proud of where we’re going, but I’m even more excited about where to lead us in the future,” he says. “I’ll never stop until I’m no longer in this role. In no way am I done yet.”
He goes on to explain some of the great new initiatives of the Office, but explicitly refuses to call them highlights of his career: “This isn’t a highlight, but where we are and where we’re going.”
Since obtaining his role as prosecutor, Santiago has committed himself to being involved and engaged in the community. That involces immigration, including the advent of what are known as T- and U- Visas, which are visas for people who are victims of crime or otherwise have information about crime. “I engaged with a number of police departments and have targeted community events about what these new visas are,” he elaborates. “I was very proud of that because it was us engaging with some of our most vulnerable residents in the county. It’s important for them to know what their rights are.” According to Santiago, he’s heard nothing but positivity from the immigration lawyers of Monmouth County.
Something Santiago is starkly proud of is the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Domestic Violence Unit that he created. After more than two decades of attorney experience, he has seen firsthand the effect domestic violence has on victims, as well as third party victims, like children or other household members.
“Our goal is to provide victims with the most support that we can, partnering with other organizations, and providing opportunities for those that do harm to change their mannerisms to stop the cycle of violence occurring.” Santiago is happy to say that with the rise of cases they’re seeing, much of them are resulting in positive outcomes. “They’re getting the encouragement they need so they’re no longer in vulnerable positions.” Local police departments have welcomed this new unit with open arms.
Addressing and aiding those with mental health issues also plays a large role and Santiago is proud to implement changes in Monmouth County. They’ve continued hosting CIT (Crisis and Intervention Training), which allows police to better deescalate situations. Link 2 Care Referral and Follow-Up Program, a model of care for NJ, has been implemented, which partners mental health professionals with emergency response teams in order to help individuals in crisis. Now widely available, thanks to the work of Monmouth County law enforcement, is the Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence and Escalation (ARRIVE) Together program, which couples mental health professionals with police officers to respond to calls deemed as necessary. The ReStart Diversion Program allows low-level offenders suspected of having mental health disorders to learn to reintegrate into society and receive treatment. And finally, the Recovery Diversion Program (RDP), an innovative initiative designed to shepherd individuals battling substance abuse and mental health disorders into recovery, has been steadily expanding its reach as well.
“We’ve had about 75 graduates of the RDP program thus far. I’m very proud of the work this program has done and to see how harmonious people are working together,” he says.
With several wins and ongoing programs under his belt already, it would be easy for Santiago to pat himself on the back for a job well done. However, he does the opposite, aiming only to continue his work while attributing his success to the law enforcement of the county. “We have a really unique collaboration and partnership with our law enforcement; everyone wants to work together. They go above and beyond.”
Santiago has much to look forward to, even aside from his busy professional life. He’s excited to see his children achieve, what he calls, some unbelievable goals. “I’m so proud of each one of them. It’s my inspiration each day.”
He encourages all to get involved in the community, especially in a law enforcement capacity. “You can be the change agent that you want to see in your community,” he says, emphatically. “It’s a pleasure to be here and to have the members of my office, the prosecutors, the detectives, the support staff – all working together. They make my job easier because of their level of dedication and professionalism.”
