I am honored to serve as your police chief as I enter my 26th year as a law enforcement officer, with almost 18 of those years with the Federal Way Police Department (FWPD).

I was named to the position this week, after serving more than seven years as deputy chief.

In all my assignments over the years, I have never lost my enthusiasm for the job, nor my affection for the organization and for the men and women who sacrifice their safety to protect our citizens. There is no nobler profession than that of providing safety and security to the community.

Next time you see one of our police officers or civilian staff, please take the time to remember the unselfish acts of our police staff as they put their lives on the line every day to protect others. We are proud to serve a population of nearly 90,000, responding to nearly 70,000 calls-for-service each year. We do this with an incredible staff of dedicated police professionals and civilian staff.

Since the formation of the FWPD in 1996, the department has progressed to one of the finest departments in the region. FWPD has taken creative approaches to foster an efficient citizen-police partnership to ensure a safe and secure community.

Moving forward, the FWPD will continue to play a key role in keeping our schools, neighborhoods and our community safe through professionalism, citizen involvement and creative approaches to public safety.

Our top priorities are to fight and reduce crime and keep our streets safe through traffic education, prevention and enforcement, such as reducing DUI and distracted driving, which pose the greatest risk to our law abiding citizens.

As trends shift and move, it is important that we remain flexible and able to respond to those priorities that impact crime, safety and quality of life in Federal Way.

Our commitment is to remain proactive and vigilant to ensure that Federal Way remains a safe place for our families. We are pleased to report that the crime rate in 2013, in comparison to 2012, remained relatively flat with an overall reduction of 1 percent.

There are many exciting things underway in Federal Way. Our commitment is to continue to work hard to provide our citizens with the highest level of service possible. We will continue working towards strengthening our relationships and partnerships with the citizens we serve.

Again, thank you for letting us serve you, and know that our police officers and civilian staff embody our guiding principles as they perform their duties for you on a daily basis: Integrity, communication, teamwork, accountability and respect.

Andy Hwang is the Federal Way chief of police.