Briefing Room: a look at the Core Values of the Seal Beach PD

Logo courtesy of Seal Beach PD

Hi Seal Beach!

Although we didn’t receive any questions this week, I thought it would be a good idea to share some important information with the community.

Whenever we go through the process to hire a new member of the Police Department, be it a police officer, senior community services officer, or police aide, we almost always ask them what is the mission of the Seal Beach Police Department.

As you can imagine, we get several different answers. We know the police are here to protect the community, catch criminals, and be a uniformed peace keeping presence in Seal Beach. But how do you consolidate that into one sentence that reflects our mission? See below:

The mission of the Seal Beach Police Department is to drive down crime and improve the quality of life for residents and visitors of Seal Beach.

Simple as that. Drive down crime, and make Seal Beach a more pleasant place to live, work, and visit. How do we go about accomplishing this mission? Again, see below:

Here are our Core Values.

Honesty and integrity

Honesty is truth, fairness, and the straightforwardness of personal conduct. It is the adherence to the facts and dedication to truthfulness in doing what’s right, legally and morally. Integrity is a quality you develop by adhering to moral principles. It requires that you do and say nothing that deceives others. As your integrity grows, so does the trust others place in you.

Service

Put the welfare of the community, the Seal Beach Police Department, and your team before your own. Selfless service is larger than just one person. In serving your community, you are doing your duty loyally without thought of recognition or gain. The basic building blocks of selfless service are the commitment of each team member to go a little further, endure a little longer, and look a little closer to see how he or she can add to the effort.

Respect

Treat all people as you would want to be treated. Respect is what allows us to appreciate the best in other people no matter who they are. Respect is also trusting that your fellow Department employees have done their jobs and fulfilled their duty. Self-respect is a vital ingredient of our team, which results from knowing you have put forth your best effort every day. The Seal Beach Police Department is one team and each of us has something to contribute.

Professionalism

We are committed to providing the highest quality of professional law enforcement service and having a clear sense of commitment, perspective, and direction. This is accomplished by creating an environment that encourages teamwork, innovation, and constant evaluation of ourselves and the needs of those we serve.

Caring

We are to be sensitive to the needs of others and demonstrate compassion for all people. Working for the Seal Beach Police Department should be challenging and rewarding. Our people are our most important resource.

We can best serve the many and varied needs of our communities by empowering our employees to fulfill their responsibilities with knowledge, authority, and appropriate discretion.

We encourage our people to submit ideas, we listen to their suggestions, and we help them develop to their maximum potential. We believe in treating all people with respect and dignity.

We show concern and empathy for the victims of crime and treat violators of the law with fairness and dignity. By demonstrating respect for others, we will earn respect for the Seal Beach Police Department.

These aren’t just words on a page for us.

In fact, a couple of years ago we sent a survey out to all Police Department employees asking them to pick the five most important values they believe are critical to this profession.

We received dozens of responses, and based on this list, we collectively narrowed it down to these five core values.

I truly believe everyone at the PD knows and exemplifies these Core Values every day. I am proud of our values, just like I’m proud of the work our team does to keep Seal Beach safe.

Keep your questions coming Seal Beach! Email us at askacop@sealbeachca.gov today!