2020-07-17 Police Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawai'i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes July 17, 2020 Page 2 • Correspondence 20-05: Request for representation by Corporation Counsel from Police Chief Paul Ferreira in 20-CV-00247-DKW-KJM. • Correspondence 20-06: Request for representation by Corporation Counsel from Officers Landon Takenishi, Luke Watkins, and Paul Isotani in 1:20-CV-00208-JAO- WRP. POLICE CHIEF'S REPORT ON DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES • Crime Report: Assistant Chief O'Connor reported that through June 20, there were 6,001 serious crimes. Of those cases, the Criminal Investigation Units investigated 616 cases. In June, the department received 8,478 calls for service. Of those, 2,314 were for criminal and traffic and 6,164 for miscellaneous public assistance. Traffic Report: Assistant Chief Wagner reported that for the fiscal year up to June 20, there were 909 traffic crashes, 22 traffic fatalities, 14 DUI fatalities, and 952 DUI arrests. For the month of June, 4,885 citations were issued: 338 seat belt, 3,494 moving/regulatory, 33 child restraint, and 1,020 speeding. In response to questions, AC Wagner stated that enforcement is focused on high fatality areas such as the Queen K and Daniel K Highways and Highway 11. AC O'Connor stated that every month they get the commanders' reports, and they then focus on areas of concern. They like to educate the public and use speed boards. Personnel Report: Major Jelsma, Acting AC of Administration, reported having 73 sworn vacancies. Taking out those in recruit classes, they have 57 vacancies. The 90th recruit class has 6 recruits, 91St class 14, and 92nd class 22. They are finishing interviews for the 93rd class today. They anticipate new hires being appointed on August 17. Recruitment for the 94th class ended in July. Of note, in January 2020, they conducted a recruitment in which 461 applied, 240 took the written test, 138 passed the written test, 103 showed up for the agility course with 35 no-shows. They now have a current recruit pool of 33. They have 14 police radio dispatcher vacancies. Seven were recommended for hiring, but two declined. They will conduct another dispatcher recruitment in August. Commissioner Sur stated that he heard complaints about the tone of the dispatchers which can be heard on scanners. Chair Bertsch stated that when you listen to the scanner, it's listening to the dispatcher and the officer. Chief Ferreira stated that Acting AC Jelsma just came on board. Regarding recruitment, after the agility, they fall off for various reasons. They are given an open book on past history. If an applicant gives a reference, they need to be sure that person will give them a good reference, and this is the same for previous employers. They look at life skills. Getting into trouble as a juvenile will not necessarily leave them out. They do outreach in the public and in the schools. They tell them that what they do in their teenage years can affect them. Selling drugs is an automatic denial.