2022-11-18 Police Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes November 18, 2022 Page 7 he wanted to know why there is an escalation. Major Briski stated that's a complex question, but the ease with which illegal firearms are available to people; it's a credit card and a keystroke away with the internet these days. Oftentimes, it's criminals that are doing this, they don't follow the law, it's not the everyday citizen. Chair Bertsch asked if "ghost guns" were involved in the recent crimes on the island. Major Briski stated a good number of them have been, or also unregistered or stolen. Chair Bertsch wanted to know out of the crimes involving firearms in Hawaii County, how many came from a registered firearm that was lawfully assigned to an individual. Major Briski stated he doesn't have the exact numbers, but he will be hard-pressed to remember a time when the firearm was legally obtained and legally held by that person involved in a crime. Commissioner Toci asked wanted to know how the department handles firearms when there are TROs involved. Major Briski stated they first check to see if the respondent has firearms registered to them, they are ordered to turn them over to the time the TRO is served. They are then recovered at that time, which is called "safe keeping" and it's maintained in their evidence warehouse until the TRO has been expired/run its course. they would then have to coordinate with the evidence office to get their firearms back. Commissioner Toci stated oftentimes the petitioner states the gun isn't registered, and she wanted to know how the department handles that. He stated that would pose a challenge. They would have to get enough information to obtain a search warrant to search for the firearm. Commissioner Andrion referred to auto thefts listed in the crime report. Fiscal year to date October 22-23 Area I has 111, compared to 214 the previous year. He stated that's a great improvement, and wanted to know if there's a practice, initiative, or explanation behind this improvement. Major Briski stated it has to do with the community and education. He further explained that through the hard work of a lot of police officers, they got some key individuals who were known for multiple auto thefts off the streets and behind bars for a while. • Traffic Report: Assistant Chief Basque reported that as of November 9, 2022, traffic crashes are at 304, compared to 282 last year. Traffic fatalities are at 12 compared to 10 last year. DUI arrests for the year are at 306, compared to 313 last year, and DUI arrests for the month are at 80, compared to 80 the previous month. For the month of October 2022, a total of 4,887 citations were issued: 3,493 for moving/regulatory, 365 for seat belt, 27 for child restraint, and 1,002 for speeding. Commissioner Robinson asked if there is any way to make a distinction in all of the traffic violations to see if these are residents of Hawaii County or visitors. AC Basque stated they could possibly run a report to find the stats. Commissioner Robinson asked if he could be provided with this information. AC Basque stated he will have someone run the report and will send it to him.