As I reflect upon my first year as Sheriff, I continue to be humbled and honored by the commitment every member of this Department makes on a daily basis to serve the people of Los Angeles County. It is my privilege to share a tradition of service, integrity and accountability with the 18,000 men and women at the nation’s largest Sheriff’s Department — a department whose accomplishments, diversity of function, and combined strength of sworn and professional staff sets us apart as a national leader in law enforcement.

The nation’s eyes are upon us. Law enforcement agencies across the United States are asking critical questions about how to deal more effectively with emerging crime trends, the rise in the numbers of mentally ill in our jail and justice systems, the use of technology in crime fighting and how better to partner with our community in all important trust building. In 2015, we engaged state, local and federal leaders and advanced LASD initiatives and support in all of these areas, and many more.

In February, I testified before the President’s 21st Century Policing Task Force and identified the need to create new approaches for how we address the needs of those struggling with mental illness. I stressed in that national platform, just as I have done at the state and local level, the need for resources to promote enhanced training as well as expanded multi-disciplinary response teams to help us divert the mentally ill from our justice system. Throughout this year, I have also advocated for adequate facilities and treatment resources as we deal with the challenges of running the largest mental health facility in the nation within our jail system. Over this past year, I testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the horrific crime of child sex trafficking and worked closely with Senator Dianne Feinstein and her staff to secure a federal grant that has enabled us to build out a Regional Task Force that will be a model for the nation.

These are just some examples of how we are more effectively fighting crime through partnerships and collaborations with national leaders, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the Board of Supervisors, the District Attorney’s Office, local and national law enforcement partners and Community Based Organizations. The creation of the LASD Human Trafficking Bureau and the Los Angeles Regional Task Force on Human Trafficking, with a combined complement of people from the LASD, FBI, DHS, Probation, Parole, Department of Children and Family Services and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking is another example. We have also developed a partnership with the United States Attorney’s Office in the Violence Reduction Network partnership with the city of Compton, where our Compton Station is part of a ten-city network looking at the most effective crime fighting and community trust building initiatives.

We have also made significant strides in moving beyond past challenges and turning a corner in areas where our Department has been under the watchful eye of outside observers. We entered into joint settlement agreements with the DOJ that have helped us bring committed resources as well as best practices to both Patrol and Custody in areas including training, constitutional policing models and more effective collaborations with the community. We now have formal approval by the Board of Supervisors to move forward with a long overdue Correctional Treatment Center that will replace the dilapidated Men’s Central Jail and a 20-year master plan for the jail system that will lead us well in to the 21st century to deal with the complex and growing population of individuals suffering from mental illness.

The LASD has also proven to be a leader in forensics and data sharing. In 2015, our crime lab received two additional accreditations to become the largest full-service, fully accredited crime laboratory in the United States –now capable of providing an even higher level of technology and service to more than 200 law enforcement agencies.

Our Professional Standards Division launched the Public Data Sharing project on www.LASD.org and is becoming one of the most comprehensive data sharing projects in the nation.

The LASD is also looking at the broader implications and outcomes in law enforcement, from crime fighting strategies to crime prevention, as we stress the importance of implementing trauma-informed policing and supporting our at-risk youth with after-school opportunities in our Youth Activity Leagues, our newly created youth lacrosse and tennis programs and literacy projects.

And, we are looking forward to our future together as we continue to attract the next generation of Sheriff’s Deputies. In 2015 we hired 639 deputy sheriff trainees and plan to graduate an average class size of 64 men and women every 8 weeks for the next three to five years.

More than ever, I am committed to the future of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. We have shown ourselves to be resilient and strong, forward–looking and true to our promise to move beyond past problems and build upon the tremendous progress already underway when I first took office.

Together, we have made significant strides on many fronts and raised the bar high. But, we can never be complacent and should always continue to demand more from ourselves – individually and collectively. We are building on a rich history and tradition of service, but find ourselves at a crossroads in American policing, one where we have a tremendous opportunity to set the standard for constitutional policing in the 21st century.

Jim McDonnell is sheriff of Los Angeles County.