Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
The Dana Ireland case has been in the news recently, including the Sept. 14 Big Q, which read, “Should Big Island Police be compelled to release information on the Dana Ireland murder case?” Who paid for the investigation and police salaries? We did. This information belongs to us.
Let’s incentivize their behavior and end bad police conduct. Police suffer few consequence for their bad conduct. We can apply good monetary practices and fix this. We can motivate leadership to implement culture change by attaching and deducting legal costs and lawsuit settlements from police and sheriff’s office budgets, versus tax dollars from the general fund or city insurance.
Leadership will demand better behavior from their officers towards citizens when it costs the agency for failing to do so. When it directly affects overtime, salaries, more cameras, smartphones and cars, they will change. With consequences, they will think twice before behaving recklessly.
Steve Barnes
Kaneohe
EXPRESS YOURSELF
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser welcomes all opinions. Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor.
>> Write us: We welcome letters up to 150 words, and guest columns of 500-600 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Include your name, address and daytime phone number.
>> Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Advertiser 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite #7-500 Honolulu, HI 96813
>> Contact: 529-4831 (phone), letters@staradvertiser.com, staradvertiser.com/editorial/submit-letter