I would like to use this space to thank the Seal Beach Community for its support of the Seal Beach Police Department during my tenure as the city’s 13th chief of police. The Department would not be what it is without that support.
It has been my honor to serve. Selfishly, it has also been my honor to have received the priviledge of leading your Police Department for six years. This has not been merely a “dream job,” it has been a passion for which I will be forever grateful. Faced with all the same issues as any other police department, large or small, I assembled a core team within the department to help accomplish the vision of making the Seal Beach Police Department the pre-eminent police department of its size and type in not only Orange County, but also the entire SoCal basin; and to execute our mission of service characterized in the next paragraph.
Every member of the Seal Beach Police Department is dedicated to providing personal and professional service to every part of our community. This is represented in our daily actions as we strive to:
- Serve through a demonstrated care and concern for the welfare and dignity of our residents, businesses, visitors and coworkers;
- Serve with loyalty to this community, which counts on us to be proactive in solving problems affecting the quality of life in Seal Beach;
- Lead by example and meet the same standards we hold the community to, never losing sight of our shared goal of providing exemplary public service and,
- Always do our best, be persons of integrity, and always uphold the honor of the Police Service.
The Seal Beach Police Department is as modern and comprehensive as could be established anywhere with the resources allowed. It is staffed with the best people available anywhere.
We believe they are the best-trained and educated law enforcement professionals found anywhere. They act honorably, and with distinction, and with consistency. Each member is truly paternal (or maternal) over this community. “We Care” and “To Protect and Serve” are not simply slogans to them. We embrace the “nobility of policing” and are prideful of our responsibility to our community.
Today, I am very confident our vision and mission have been met—and met well. Our crime rate is low. Our productivity and morale are high. Complaints of corruption, graft, malfeasance—and all the other headline makers you read of elsewhere—do not occur in this organization. You and your fellow community members can be extremely proud of your police department!
I am proud to have served with each and every member of the Seal Beach Police Department these past six years. May God Bless and Protect you, the reader of this column, and each and every member of this most excellent law enforcement organization.
So, as I enter retirement on Sunday, June 12, 2011, rather than saying goodbye, I would much rather say to you all, “See you sooner than later!”
With warmest regard,
Jeff Kirkpatrick, Chief of Police (retired)
City of Seal Beach Police Department
