Our Vision, Mission, & Values
Our Vision, Mission, & Values — Anchorage Police Department
Our Vision, Mission, & Values — Anchorage Police Department Our guiding Vision, mission & Values Current police badge worn by Anchorage Police Department Officers APD 100 Year Anniversary Badge Our Vision To create an environment where everybody matters. Our Mission To protect and serve our community in the most professional and compassionate manner possible. Our core Values Gratitude Gratitude keeps us grounded and brings meaning to everyday recognition. We do not take the employees who work for the APD, the employees' support systems, and the community we serve for granted. We continually strive to recognize those who make the department and this city a great place to live and work in meaningful ways. Honor Honor represents the commitment to being true to our vision. We are not committed to easy decisions but rather to making the right decisions, understanding that the right thing to do is frequently the most challenging path and might not be the most popular. Excellence Excellence is the commitment to demanding more of ourselves than our community does. Excellence drives us to continually strive for the highest stands in everything we do, pushing boundaries and embracing innovation. Excellence is doing our jobs with consideration for intent and impact and aiming to close the gap between them. Service By prioritizing service, we commit to putting the needs of others before our own. Our department's mission encompasses the two most essential elements of service: providing professional and compassionate service. Our Patch Each of our sworn officers proudly wears our patch on their left sleeve. It features the seal of the city which showcases an anchor, a sun and ship, and an airplane. Altogether they represent Captain James Cook, the British explorer who visited Southcentral Alaska in 1778 while looking for the Northwest Passage, the midnight sun, Alaska as the Air Crossroads of the World, and our port. Our badge The significance of wearing a badge can be traced back to medieval times when knights wore a coat of arms which displayed their allegiances and loyalty. In more recent times, badges are worn to show group membership, awards, and rank, much like the badge our APD officers wear or carry. The year 2021 brings APD’s 100th anniversary. To celebrate and recognize where we started, and how far we’ve come, we decided to create an anniversary badge, pictured below. You might see some of our officers wearing our 100-year anniversary badge in 2021. The oldest APD badge we could confirm by photo was worn by APD Chief Walter Brewington who was chief from July 1929-May 1936. Our anniversary badge blends the old 6 point star with our current colors (gold on silver and silver on gold) and incorporated a modern version of our city seal. Left: Chief of Police Walter Brewington, July 1929 - May 1936Right: Oldest confirmed badge worn by Chief Brewington