More than half of the Honolulu Police Department’s 2,000 officers have begun turning in their Smith & Wessons for Glock 17 semi-automatic handguns.

The stainless steel handguns have been in HPD’s inventory for nearly a quarter of a century and will be replaced by the lighter handguns — the preferred weapon of many law enforcement agencies.

Honolulu police Chief Louis Kealoha has said the move is necessary because Smith & Wesson no longer manufactures the model now issued and replacement parts are no longer available. Although the department has begun issuing the new weapons, it will be at least another year before all officers are carrying a Glock in their holsters.

The Glock handgun is a 9 mm pistol made with a polymer frame. It replaces the Smith & Wesson 5906 — a 9 mm handgun made of stainless steel that officers have carried for 23 years.

HPD requested $600,000 in its 2014 operating budget to implement the first part of a three-year replacement program and expects to purchase 800 pistols, holsters and magazine pouches.

City spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke said it will cost nearly $1 million total to replace the old handguns at about $300 to $500 each.

The old guns are considered surplus city property.

"HPD has suggested transferring some of the surplus guns to the American Samoa police department, where they could be put to good use," Broder Van Dyke added.

Excess valuable city property could be sold at public auction. But Mayor Kirk Caldwell "is committed to not allowing the guns to be sold to the general public," Broder Van Dyke said. "He will not allow them to end up on the streets of Hono­lulu."

Budget Director Nelson Koyanagi is pursuing alternatives, and a final decision on what to do with the old handguns hasn’t been made, Broder Van Dyke added.

The Smith & Wesson 5906 model was discontinued in 1999.

Most law enforcement agencies are moving to polymer models, which are lighter than the current stainless steel weapons.

Two days of instruction are required before an officer can carry the new gun.

HPD officers will now also face changes to procedures involving patrol cars.

The department is now requiring officers in patrol cars to keep their blue-and-white lights on during the day.

Lights were always required at night, and a couple of months ago the policy was expanded to include daylight hours, said police spokeswoman Michelle Yu.

"The department has received a lot of positive feedback from the public," she added. "They say that the added visibility is good and makes it easier to find an officer when needed."

The policy applies to fleet (marked blue and whites) and subsidized (personal) cars. It also does not apply to officers conducting special operations, such as anti-speeding enforcement, Yu added.

The department is also in the process of getting new patrol cars and sport utility vehicles.

HPD began looking for a replacement fleet vehicle after finding out that Ford would be discontinuing production of the Crown Victoria model in 2012, Yu said.

After considering various makes and models, HPD selected the Ford Police Interceptor.

The city awarded a $5.6 million contract in June 2013 to purchase 115 Interceptor sedans and 10 Interceptor SUVs.

The sedans cost $44,866.66 each and the SUVs are $48,744.59 each.

The first vehicles began arriving late last year and are assigned to units across the island.

Another change for HPD officers that took effect Tuesday is a ban on tattoos on all visible parts of the body.

Officers are not allowed to have visible body art, tattoos or body ornaments showing while on duty.

The new HPD regulation does allow officers to use makeup to be in compliance, and they can wear long-sleeved, regulation uniform shirts to cover up.

The long-sleeved uniform shirt costs $100, $13 more than short-sleeved shirts, Yu said.

Yu said police officers pay for 25 percent of the cost of their uniforms. To assist with this expense, they receive a uniform allowance of $300 per year, Yu said.

"The (tattoo) policy was created to project a more professional image and is in line with what other police departments and the military have adopted," Yu said. "The policy applies to existing and incoming officers; officers who are not in compliance may be subject to disciplinary action."

CORRECTIONS: A policy requiring police vehicles on patrol to leave their blue lights on applies to both fleet and subsidized vehicles. An earlier version of this story and a story in Thursday’s print edition said it just applied to marked blue and white vehicles.

A long-sleeved uniform shirt costs $13 more than shore-sleeved shirts. The earlier story said the long-sleeve shirt costs $3.25 more. The department subsidizes the cost of the shirts to officers. So while the long-sleeve shirt costs $13 more, officers pay $3.25 more for the shirts.

A Glock 17 handgun weighs 32.12 ounces loaded. A fact box in the earlier story said it weighs 312.12 ounces.