2022-12-12 Police Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Police Commission Special Meeting Minutes December 12, 2022 Page 10 change or keep it as the status quo? If changed, what would be the top three needs to address? ➢ Benjamin Moszkowicz stated as someone who comes from outside the department, he thinks the very first thing he would do to address this question is to take an examination of the culture and see if it's effective. Aside from that, the other two issues that need to be addressed is the staffing. Staffing, especially in patrol assignments is an anchor and it's keeping the ship from moving forward. Staffing needs to be increased. There are a lot of ways to do this, you could take 18-year-old locals right out of high school, and bring them on board the department as paid employees. As contract employees they work two or three years, they're background checked, they're familiar with the culture, they buy into the organization, and when they turn 21, congratulations here's your key to the rest of your career, you got three years under your belt towards retirement. Another thing they could use effectively is technology. They need to figure out how to use technology more effectively to increase officer safety and make the job of the officers on the road be able to be completed more efficiently and effectively and that helps with staffing as well. All these issues are tied in together. Not to hedge the "change everything" or "new direction everything", but he feels it's very important to develop a snapshot of the culture and find the best parts of that culture in moving forward in these other directions. ➢ Edward Ignacio stated it begins with culture. If you do not change the culture, no matter what you try and change it'll be hard to be accepted. How do you do that? Part of what you do when trying to change a culture is provide good leadership. Leadership is what drives your culture. The guys beneath you, from the top to the bottom, they want to see a leader that inspires them and pushes them to do what is right. They want consistency. It also comes down to training. We need to train everyone, top to bottom. Just because you're promoted to sergeant, doesn't mean you know how to be a sergeant. You have to learn your job. How do you learn your job? By your lieutenants and captains. It's a constantly developing scene, you need to be flexible and look with the times. Modernization is part of it. How do you modernize the department? Part of that is modernizing how your leaders are trained and how they work with their subordinates. The third part of that comes down to equipment. Things as simple as uniforms. Some guys have sore backs because of the belts. We're stuck in the past and we need to look forward. If we look forward, that will change the culture. Changing the culture, and improving leadership, training, and equipment, are the things he would immediately try to address. ➢ Paul Applegate stated he wanted to thank Chief Ferreira for his years and service and for what he gave to the department and the community. His three