Oahu is embraced by 227 miles of coastline, studded with hundreds of famous surf breaks, swim spots and sightseeing destinations frequented by locals and tourists. Protecting those who visit that sandy expanse are 271 water safety officers who, despite their role as guardians of Hawaii’s most valuable and highly trafficked attractions, are relegated to a division deep within Honolulu’s bureaucracy. A change in that power structure is overdue.

Now, more than 100 years after the Territory of Hawaii passed Act 201 to establish “life-saving patrols” along Waikiki Beach, there is momentum to splinter the current Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division (OSD) out of the Emergency Medical Services Department, into a stand-alone department. A pending City Council resolution would move Ocean Safety toward a seat at the executives’ table, plus direct access to funding and the power to delegate those resources, equal footing with the Honolulu Fire Department and Honolulu Police Department, and a direct line to the mayor. As it stands, Ocean Safety runs decisions up a flagpole, through EMS administrators who lack toes-in-the-sand lifesaving experience.

And that is a drawback. An agency so vital to Oahu’s way of life — one that interfaces with thousands of beachgoers daily — should have more influence in its operations and management. In January, OSD reported to the City Council that it performs about 3,000 rescues and 1.4 million preventative actions annually. But the division currently has no formal headquarters, lacks principal control over its purse strings and sees some water safety officers working out of park bathrooms. Unbecoming for the world’s largest full-time, open-ocean lifeguarding organization.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi, the Council and Ocean Safety Chief John Titchen agree that a spinoff is the correct direction, but they disagree on what shape an Ocean Safety Department might take. Blangiardi has pushed for the split, saying as much in two consecutive State of the City addresses, and creating the Ocean Safety Task Force to evaluate formation of the new department. After 11 meetings in the latter half of 2023, a cadre of current and former city lifeguards, community experts and city department representatives issued a unanimous recommendation in favor of the idea.

The task force pointed to the creation of an Ocean Safety Department with 11 new staff positions, incurring an estimated outlay of $1.4 million a year. Titchen told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that his recommendation would be nine positions at a cost of about $1 million per year, an amount he is comfortable keeping level for “several years while we build toward a better department.”

Adjacently formed would be a commission that, according to Titchen, will provide transparency into Ocean Safety spending and safeguard against consolidation of control under a single administrator who might be beholden to outside powers. Blangiardi’s vision for the department allows little room for an oversight board, but such guardrails must be adopted from the outset.

“The department — the service — becomes more important than the individual,” Titchen said. “And I think it’s super important for the public to look at its public safety agencies, to realize that they’re not steered one direction or another based on the whims of an individual, but more on the needs of the community.”

Titchen wants Ocean Safety’s prospective split from EMS to be put in the hands of voters — via a proposed amendment to the City Charter in November’s election. A favorable vote would not only be public mandate to operate as a self-contained entity, but a gauge to inform how hard the department can realistically push for additional funding. Those extra dollars could translate into lives saved. According to the task force report, drownings accounted for 12% of all deaths among Hawaii children ages 1 to 15, compared to 9% of that age group who die from cancer, 7% from suicide and 5% from car crashes.

OSD is one of Oahu’s most important safety resources — it has played the role of subordinate for too long.