Without any doubt, the Honolulu Police Department needs to deploy every means to train the next generation of officers. It has more than 400 vacancies to fill, for starters, and no small degree of difficulty in the public duties it’s expected to manage.
And there has been a spike in activity, including violent crime, on the Waianae Coast, where residents are expressing concern about their community security.
At the other end of its bailiwick, HPD has given focused attention for more than a year in its “Safe and Sound Waikiki” program and, although persistent societal problems remain challenges, the department has chalked up some crime-deterrence success there. After a year of its operation last fall, police reported a drop in crime.
That should provide some incentive for its newly relaunched Police Services Officer (PSO) program, an apprentice-like route for recruits. Focused attention does work — as long as there are people on board to shoulder the burden. And it’s become clear that, in the uphill battle to build up the police force, providing an early entry point for the career path — as early as high school — would be wise.
But, any forward movement backslides tremendously when those already on the force fall far short of acceptable standards. This week there was another reminder of that, again from Waianae.
Three officers facing trial on accusations that they caused a high-speed chase and crash and then covered it up were fired recently by HPD. They are being represented by the police union, however, and their termination is not final.
Even so, it’s necessary that HPD leaders took firm action to signal its position against the alleged behavior by its officers. The chase, after all, culminated in a crash that tragically left two young men with paralysis and brain injury in its wake.
The allegations are that the officers were involved in the chase, left the scene of the crash, and later returned and acted as if they knew nothing about the incident. Additional officers are being disciplined in the case, including one who allegedly didn’t relay witness testimony that police were involved in the chase preceding the crash.
If proven true beyond a reasonable doubt, this kind of misconduct must be seen as unconscionable. Unfortunately, there have been other weaknesses to be rooted out from a department where too often supervision is lacking, or — worse — police officers are looking the other way.
It’s been five years since a jury convicted its disgraced former chief, Louis Kealoha. But the memory is still fresh of how officers so easily enabled the conspiracy and the fraud that ultimately landed their boss in jail.
If there is to be a culture change at HPD, the correct standards must be instilled at the start in those trained and enlisted to serve.
The PSO program was formerly known as the Cadet Program. This program functions like a paid apprenticeship for high schoolers who don’t plan to go to college, as well as community college students and others who don’t yet qualify for the Honolulu Police Academy.
HPD also has revamped its Law Enforcement Explorers’ Program, allowing students ages 14 to 20 to explore possible police careers. Its 25 participants comprise a small cohort, but at least it’s a start.
Sadly, Hawaii is becoming an increasingly dangerous place. Easier access to guns, to begin with, complicates police work already made perilous by a host of social ills, from homelessness to drug addiction.
Honolulu needs more police officers to give communities under strain sufficient patrols and support. Those police officers must have sufficient tools, skills and judgment to do their job safely.
Importantly, they also need veteran officers setting the right example — or they may follow any bad example playing out around them.
