RES 187 Draft 01 2008-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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OHA Grant Proposal Executive Summary The name of our organization is the Hawaii County Police Department. The employees of the Hawaii Police Department are committed to preserving the Spirit of Aloha. We work cooperatively with the community to enforce the laws, preserve peace, and provide a safe environment. The Hawaii Police Department is committed to providing the highest quality of police service and forming partnerships with the community to achieve public satisfaction making the Big Island a safe place to live, visit, and conduct business. Integrity, professionalism, compassion, teamwork and community satisfaction are our core values. We believe by partnering with The Office of Hawaiian Affairs on this project we will improve the quality of life for people of Hawaiian ancestry, Hawaiian Homeland residents, as well as others in the community. Funding this project will foster a closer more positive relationship between the police and the Hawaiian community. It will enable the Hawaii County Police Department to interact with the Hawaiian community in a more culturally sensitive way, respecting Hawaiian traditions and practices. Through this we hope to lower the numbers of Hawaiians entering the criminal justice system while still providing a safe environment. Recently, Hawaii County Police Department has reinstated the Bicycle Patrol for the downtown Hilo business district and the Keaukaha area, including the Keaukaha Hawaiian Homelands area. The Bicycle Patrol is designed to give the community greater access to police officers, improve community relations and provide better service. We have found that the Bicycle Patrol increase the number of positive encounters between police and the community cultivating a more collaborative and positive relationship. The Bicycle Patrol creates an environment in which the community feels a greater ease in reaching out to police officers and builds a greater rapport and trust. By the simple act of getting the police officer out of the car and onto the street in direct contact with the community a bridge is built between them. We find that the Bicycle Patrol also has a huge impact on the children in the community. Kids love to talk and interact with the police when they are on their bikes and foster a positive perception of police in their minds. We intend to reach out to the youth in the Keaukaha area, via the Bicycle Patrol to build rapport and be proactive in addressing problems in that community. It allows both the community and police officers to achieve a greater empathy and respect for one another. The Bicycle Patrol is a proactive program and approach in handling problems in the community. The Bicycle Patrol was originally started ten years ago with an E. Byme Memorial Grant. Through this grant bikes, uniforms and training were able to be procured. Some years later another E. Byrne Memorial Grant provided additional training and equipment. As of 2009 Weed and Seed grant money was used to provide new uniforms and training for seven officers to reinstate the Bicycle Patrol. The Bicycle Patrol program has been sustained entirely on grant monies and with the current economic situation it doesn't appear this will change any time soon. Through the Bicycle Patrol we are currently servicing the Keaukaha Community Park, Keaukaha Hawaiian Homelands, Keaukaha beach area and the downtown Hilo business district. The Keaukaha Hawaiian Homelands has two hundred plus residents. June through September the