Steve Strachan, a former Kent Police chief, has decided to leave his job as the Bremerton Police chief to become executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC).

Strachan will remain as chief until the end of the year, according to Kitsapsun.com. He was hired by the city of Bremerton in 2013.

The mission of the WASPC is to lead collaboration among law enforcement executives to enhance public safety, according to its website. The association, based in Lacey near Olympia, was founded in 1963 and consists of executive and top management personnel from law enforcement agencies statewide. The membership includes sheriffs, police chiefs, the Washington State Patrol, the Washington Department of Corrections and representatives of a number of federal agencies. WASPC is governed by its executive board.

Strachan worked as the Kent Police chief from 2006 to 2010. He left to become chief deputy under then-King County Sheriff Sue Rahr. He was interim sheriff in 2012 before losing the November election to John Urquhart. Prior to coming to Kent, Strachan worked as chief of police in Lakeville, Minn.

Kent Police Chief Ken Thomas, who replaced Strachan, is president-elect of the 15-member WASPC executive board, which Strachan also serves on. Mike Painter, who worked for the Kent Police for 32 years before retiring in 2012, is director of professional services for the sheriffs and police chiefs association. Painter served as interim chief in Kent after Strachan left.

Strachan will replace executive director Mitch Barker, who is retiring. Barker previously worked as assistant chief of police in Vancouver, the Gig Harbor police chief and as director of special investigations for the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner before taking the WASPC job in 2012.