Honolulu Police Department reviewing results of personnel survey

Honolulu police leadership is reviewing the results of an internal survey sent to 1,820 officers and 400 civilian personnel to help shape the future of the department.

About 50% of the recipients returned their survey by the Aug. 15 deadline, Chief Arthur J. Logan told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an interview.

Logan and his leadership team will spend the next 60 to 90 days reviewing the results and working them into Logan’s strategic vision for evolving the department to become what the community and officers want to see for the next five to 20 years, he said.

“(In order) to get buy-in from inside the department, which is my priority for building trust, and … outside the department, to rebuild trust,” said Logan. “To do that, I need to get input from them (officers, civilian staff and the community) to understand what’s working well in the department, what’s not, and get their ideas about what they see in the future of the department.”

The 50-question survey opens with, “Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey for the Honolulu Police Department’s Strategic Plan. It should take 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Your answers will be kept anonymous and will help to formulate the Strategic Plan,” according to a copy provided to the Star-Advertiser.

It includes an array of questions such as asking for input on department morale, whether discipline is meted out consistently and fairly, is innovation embraced, do officers have the right equipment and does HPD leadership communicate well with officers and the community.

Officers are asked to read a statement and check a box if they “Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, or N/A.”

The survey questions are grouped by categories including “Health, Safety and Wellness, Personnel and Training, Crime Prevention, Community Engagement, Technology and Innovation, Organization and Your Comments.”

Questions 49 and 50 ask for written responses to the following questions: “The thing I like best about working for the Honolulu Police Department is” and “The thing I would most like to see improved at the Honolulu Police Department is.”

The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers embraced the HPD administration’s effort to include front-line officers in the strategic planning process.

“We commend Chief Logan for taking the initial step to gain feedback from rank-and-file police officers on the direction of the department rather than simply dictating changes with zero input from front-line workers,” said SHOPO Vice President Steve Keogh, an HPD sergeant and 15-year veteran of the department. “SHOPO has taken similar action on Maui and Kauai because police leadership on those islands has not been as forward-thinking in identifying what is contributing to low employee morale, dangerous working conditions, and outdated equipment. We look forward to working with Chief Logan on utilizing the results of this survey to create a collaborative set of action items that improve the HPD.”

Logan said he would like to receive input from the community and incorporate that and the survey results into HPD’s strategic planning.

“It’s not Joe Logan’s police department; it’s our police department,” said Logan. “Help me help all of us to shape the police department for the future so we are the police department the community wants. Together, we will reduce criminal activity and keep Honolulu the safe place that it is.”

2022 HPD Internal Survey by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd