Oahu police staffed at dangerously low level, says SHOPO

A shortage of police patrol officers is creating dangerous conditions on Oahu by leaving areas of the island unguarded on occasion while available units scramble to respond to 911 calls, the president of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” live­stream program Monday.

SHOPO President Robert Cavaco, a lieutenant in the Honolulu Police Department, said the community and patrol officers deserve beats staffed at “100%” instead of the current average of 70% to 75%. He detailed several examples from the past two months when HPD was dangerously low on uniformed officers available to respond to crimes.

In January in Patrol District 3, which covers the area from Red Hill to Village Park, a shift started with only 10 officers to cover 17 patrol sectors. A late-night traffic fatality on the H-2 freeway drew officers to the scene, leaving only two to three others to respond to calls from Red Hill to Kunia, according to Cavaco.

“That’s the kind of thing we are talking about. The community deserves 100% … on all three watches, every day. The community deserves that for public safety,” he said. “I’m speaking for the 1,100 patrol cops that are dealing with this.”

In another example three weeks ago in District 2, which includes Kunia, Wahiawa, Whitmore, Waialua, Haleiwa, Waimea and Sunset Beach, seven officers started their 2 p.m. shift covering 13 beats — “and then they went out on the road and it got busy,” Cavaco said.

“Their sector sergeant documented … that the dispatcher contacted the watch lieutenant and said that she had multiple Priority 1, in-progress cases to send out and she has no officers available.”

HPD did pay for three officers to come in on overtime that day, but they did not start until 4 p.m., according to Cavaco.

He said interim Police Chief Rade Vanic’s administration has been receptive to the union’s concerns about staffing.

Vanic, who once worked a patrol beat with Cavaco, told the Star-Advertiser in a statement Friday that HPD is working with SHOPO on a patrol district staffing solution to ensure officer and citizen safety.

The minimum staffing level for patrol districts was raised to 75% in February, and dispatchers are sending backup officers to respond to cases with the potential to result in aggression or violence. Supervisors are monitoring radio communications to ensure officers don’t cancel reinforcements, Vanic said.

SHOPO met with Vanic’s leadership team on the staffing issue as recently as last week, and another meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

“We’re holding our position strong. We want 100% patrol staffing for our officers, and I think we are getting a good response from them,” Cavaco said. “We realize that Chief Vanic is interim chief, and it may be hard for him. He may not want to do something bold or do a big decision” that might conflict with a new chief’s plans.

SHOPO believes HPD could use the money it returns to the city budget each year, an average of $6 million a year over the past five years, to cover the overtime needed to safely staff beats. Cavaco said SHOPO members feel “lied to” because they have been told that everything has to be done on a tight budget.

“When we found out the department was giving back millions, that really upset our officers; here they are, short in the field,” he said.

Vanic said HPD monitors and regularly reviews its budget and spending for ways to streamline and improve efficiency. He explained that the COVID-19 pandemic forced all city departments to slash their budgets, and HPD was asked to give back an additional $4 million annually. That money came from operating expenses so it would not hit officer salaries, he said.

Annual overtime expenditures are difficult to predict because HPD must have funds available in the event of a large-scale emergency, natural disaster or unplanned events, Vanic said.

And the total appropriated for HPD is not always available at the start of the fiscal year because funds are allocated quarterly.

“While each quarter begins with a new allotment, the lapsed funds figure reflects the total amount accumulated (from each quarter), not the amount that has been carried throughout the year. For this reason, there will always be a certain amount of unspent funds,” Vanic said.

In fiscal year 2021 about $17.9 million in budgeted general funds lapsed, due in part to pandemic-related court closures, which reduced the usual overtime expenses for police court appearances.

HPD spent $6.1 in overtime for court appearances in fiscal year 2019, compared with $4 million in fiscal year 2020 and $1.3 million in 2021.

Other factors contributing to lapsed budgeted funds included intermittent CARES Act reimbursement for certain payroll and equipment expenses, suspended procurement of goods and serv­ices due to pandemic-related shortages, and cancellation of travel and training, Vanic said.

“Salaries for vacant positions were also a factor as $12.4 (million) in general funded salaries lapsed at the end of FY21,” he said. “This was out of the department’s total FY21 budget of approximately $279 (million), of which HPD expended approximately $264 (million) or 95% of the approved budget.”