With 90,000 residents and 10 million visitors a year traversing this popular international beach resort, Miami Beach is as much a paradise as a paradox. There are billionaires living just blocks from subsidized housing, mega-events like this weekend’s boating extravaganza and late-night-to-dawn partying on South Beach.

Add to that mix the city’s diverse population by age, race, religion and sexual orientation, and the need for clear rules and ethical behavior by law enforcement assumes paramount importance.

Soon, a new police chief will be put to the test. After a long and painstaking wait, the search for Miami Beach’s new police chief is finally winding down. Miami Beach City Manager Jorge Gonzalez announced that four finalists have emerged in the five-month pursuit to find a successor to former Chief Carlos Noriega.

The candidates: Frank Fernandez, former deputy police chief with the Miami Police Department; Thomas Hunker, police chief of Bal Harbour; Raymond Martinez, assistant chief of police for Miami Beach and current head of the city’s department; and Mark Overton, police chief of Hialeah.

Mr. Noriega retired last year after a series of high-profile investigations that included alleged gay bashing, a fatal shooting during Urban Beach Weekend and an officer’s drunken ATV joyride that left two beachgoers seriously injured. All of these incidents pointed to a clear lack of supervision and laissez-faire management.

While the process to replace Mr. Noriega has been a long one, Mr. Gonzalez’s investigation has been rightly thorough. The city manager made sure the community and key experts were involved in vetting a police chief who will not just oversee the department, but make necessary systemic changes to an entrenched culture of anything goes.

The impressive two-day panel interviews of chief candidates included area police chiefs, former prosecutors, Miami Dade County Public Defender Carlos Martinez, former state Sen. Dan Gelber, gay rights leaders and business leaders.

Mr. Gelber said Mr. Gonzalez made it clear that the next chief must be “a commanding presence who can help the department meet its challenges, not just someone who will let things continue the way things are going.” Good.

Mr. Gonzalez is getting input from the Florida Police Chiefs Association before making his recommendation to city commissioners, likely by next week. The Beach needs a committed police chief willing to break old habits and build up the image of a discredited department.