2022-11-18 Police Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes November 18, 2022 Page 6 Chair Bertsch stated the commission received a request to obtain a copy of the interrogatory that they distributed. He stated there was nothing in that questionnaire that is alarming, it was fairly generic, asking for history and why they want to be the chief of police. Because of the hiring practices by County HR, they might use this questionnaire again in the future, it was asked that the questions remain protected. He once again stated the questionnaire was pretty generic and was just an evaluation process for the commission. Mr. Black stated he was not concerned about the disclosure of the documents. As he reads the agenda, it mentions the discussion of candidates in executive session. Chair Bertsch stated if anyone in the community feels like they need to be transparent, they look forward to that. His goal has always been to navigate this process in the most efficient, effective, and transparent way following guidelines that they need to follow. He further stated when their long-time secretary retired, it took them almost 6 months to find a replacement for her. They're doing their absolute best to find the best police chief for the County of Hawaii. Because of Sunshine Laws, the commission cannot meet without posting a meeting, they are bound by that law. If they all could get together someplace, sit down, chat and go through it, they would get it done quickly, but unfortunately, they don't have that luxury and time is not in their favor. Recess was called at 10:20 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 10:30 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES • Commissioner Robinson motioned to approve the regular and executive session minutes of October 21, 2022, Commissioner Andrion seconded, no discussion, it carried unanimously, and the minutes were approved. POLICE CHIEF'S REPORT ON DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES • Crime Report: Major Briski reported that through October 30, 2022, there were 1,932 serious crimes. Of those cases, 227 were investigated by the Criminal Investigation Units in Area I and Area II. • Calls for Service: Major Briski reported that in October, the department received 10,158 calls for service. Commissioner Quartararo asked if the fiscal year-to-date total calls for service is 40,192, as stated in the report. Major Briski stated he doesn't believe that is accurate. Chair Bertsch asked if they are seeing any trends. Major Briski stated they have been seeing an uptick in thefts across the board. As the economy has slowed, they have seen an increase in shoplifting, etc. although these types of crimes are brought before the judiciary, it's a lower status, so they see the same names repetitively for the same things. Chair Bertsch stated it appears there are more crimes involving weapons, and