Chief Slowik told the Police Community Advisory Board on Sept. 3 that the Oak Harbor Police Department has revised its mission and values, completed a reaccreditation cycle, and is coping with staffing turnover even as the department absorbs new state reporting requirements for use-of-force incidents.

The new mission statement, Chief Slowik said, reads in full: “The police department is dedicated to community safety through proactive law enforcement, community engagement. We strive to uphold the values of respect, integrity, and excellence, while protecting the lives and property of all those who live, work, and visit the community.”

Why it matters: the department reported four unfilled sworn positions, recent departures in the records unit and other personnel changes that could affect day-to-day operations and public transparency. “We currently have 4 unfilled police officer positions,” Chief Slowik said. He also named the records supervisor, Lisa Edlin, as transferring out of the community with a Navy move and said the lead records person is also leaving this month.

Chief Slowik summarized several operational changes and burdens: the department received reaccreditation through WASPC (a four-year cycle), deployed professional standards software, moved from pooled to assigned fleet vehicles to aid recruitment and vehicle maintenance, and assigned laptops to officers for CJIS compliance. He said mandatory state reporting on use-of-force — covering incidents from drawing a firearm to taser deployment or hands-on force — began Sept. 2 and is reported to a state database.

The board asked whether the department can produce a metric tying arrests to drug involvement. Chief Slowik said the most reliable count he can provide would be “any drug related charge referred to the prosecutor,” and that tracking broader impairment or evidence of drug use without a formal charge would skew the numbers.

Public-records and body-worn-camera demands are straining staff, Chief Slowik told the board. He said the department will temporarily close its lobby for one week to train staff, but that the city still must reassign an experienced evidence-room employee who performs redaction work. “The body-worn camera redaction's a big challenge, and Washington state doesn't allow us to recoup all our expenses for all that time,” he said.

Other operational notes: the department has new and pending promotions (a lieutenant assessment center offered a conditional hire), interviews are scheduled for officer candidates, and the Citizen Academy will start Sept. 18. Chief Slowik also noted regional enforcement actions that recovered substantial contraband: on the day of his presentation he referenced another operation in the region that recovered “20 pounds of methamphetamine, 14 firearms.”

Ending: CAB members recommended the department continue tracking metrics that would inform policy responses downtown and urged recruitment help; Chief Slowik invited CAB members to encourage qualified applicants and to consider the Citizen Academy as an outreach tool.