SPOKANE, Wash. -

It's taken ten months but Spokane is finally getting a new leader for its police department as Frank Straub reports for duty Monday for his first day on the job.

Straub just finished up a cross-country road trip that started in New York so probably the last thing he wants to do is more driving. Just the same, Harold Folk of the police department's fleet services spent the day washing Straub's new company car.

The Chevy Impala was last driven by former chief Anne Kirkpatrick and so Folk had ten months of dirt and grime to clean off.

"One of the things that I really want to do is spend some time with the line officers, do some ride-alongs with them on all the different shifts to get a sense of what their perception of the department is," Straub said. "What are we doing right? What can we do better?"

Straub faces the daunting task of getting to know the names of 240 police officers and the staff that keeps the department running, and a lot of face-to-face meetings will take place in Straub's new office, which has been the home to more than a half dozen police chiefs since the Public Safety Building was constructed.

Along with the new car and office Straub will also be issued a duty weapon by the department, though he'll have to qualify with the pistol on the gun range before he can carry it in an official capacity.

No matter what business you are in, the arrival of a new boss tends to make the rank and file nervous. Rick Dobrow is a swing shift lieutenant who's looking forward to seeing what Straub has to offer the department.

"I think it's exciting and we're going to look at this as an opportunity to strengthen our organization behind some real good leadership," he said.

While there be some nerves with the arrival of a new chief, everyone wants him to succeed because if he doesn't it’s the criminals of our community who will benefit from his failure.