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Police Department
Stewardship & Change
A police department must grow and change with its community.
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Stewardship is a key component of running any department in the city, and the Anacortes Police Department is no different. As the city grows, so too must our capabilities, and Anacortes leaders have seen fit to add a position to the APD’s ranks as they prepared the city’s 2022 budget near the end of last year.
That additional position will be huge for the police department, as it creates a third detective position to specialize in digital evidence, an increasingly common factor in the APD’s investigations. Just about every felony investigation that comes through the APD has some kind of digital element tied to it, from mobile phones to Facebook accounts and anything else that exists in the digital world.
Growth is inevitable, and the changing world makes it that way. That said, it remains crucial at the APD that we maintain that smalltown feel as our officers leave the station on their shifts. Shake their hands and ask for a badge sticker, flag them down and tell them what’s up; it’s a priority for our officers to develop a positive relationship to the community they serve.
A major part of developing that relationship involves community outreach. This comes in many forms, from speaking with citizens while out and about, talks at the Anacortes Senior Activity Center, our school resource officer’s presence at Anacortes Middle School and Anacortes High School, appearances at Anacortes City Council meetings and more. Our officers are part of the community they serve, and while not all of them live within the city’s borders, all of them aspire to immerse themselves in the community.
Even as we grow, that small-town feel is essential to our identity, and we work to maintain it each and every day. What exactly does it mean to be a small town? The APD sees “small” as a synonym for “tight-knit.” Members of a community look out for each other, and that’s what we’re here to do as this town’s police department.
Brent Lindquist Community Service Officer Anacortes Police Department 360-588-8234 (DESK) 360-630-3058 (CELL) 360-293-4684 (OFFICE)
