2024-04-19 Police Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes April 19, 2024 Page 3 Commissioner Tavares suggested adding two extra columns to the crime and traffic report, showing statistics over a three or five-year period to observe trend alignments. Major Amaral indicated that the chief could explore implementing it. • Personnel Report: Assistant Chief Burian provided an update on vacancies as of March 31, 2024. There are currently 89 sworn vacancies in the field, with deductions from the 98th, 99th, and 100th Recruit Classes, resulting in 47 unfilled positions. As for Police Communications Officers, there are 28 filled positions and 13 vacancies. All Supervising Police Communications Officer positions are currently filled. The next training class, starting on May 1st, will consist of two individuals, with interviews scheduled for the following class starting on June 1st. Assistant Chief Burian noted an improvement in dispatch compared to five or six years ago during his time in Technical Services. Overall, HPD has filled 421 out of 484 sworn positions (87%) and 123 out of 156 civilian positions (79%). • Police Officer I Recruitment Activities: Assistant Chief Burian provided updates on ongoing recruitments. The 100th Recruit Class consists of 17 recruits, who will undergo training until September 30, 2024. The 99th Recruit Class, with 18 recruits, is currently undergoing classroom training until May 15, 2024, after which they will transition to field training. The 98th Recruit Class, with seven recruits, started field training on January 17th and will continue until May 16th. The upcoming 101st Recruit Class is scheduled to commence on July 16th, 27 attended the agility test. With continuous recruitment efforts, this class is expected to include individuals from four separate agility tests and four separate written tests held monthly. While progress is gradual, various measures have been implemented to enhance recruitment efficiency. • Other Recruitment Activities: Assistant Chief Burian reported Police Officer III recruitments ran internally from February 11th through February 20th. The refereed list has been received, pending administrative review with County HR. Although Police Sergeant/Detective and Lieutenant written exams were completed, recruitment was canceled due to issues. A new recruitment process will commence in May, with the previous test voided. Applicants will need to reapply and undergo testing again. He acknowledged an oversight in generating the reading list, overlooking Section 707 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, resulting in the provided list containing Sections 708-712, with some questions from Section 707 included. Additionally, the passing score was changed from 60 to 70, contrary to their General Orders. Despite their authority to recommend passing scores, the final decision lies with County HR. This discrepancy prompted consultation with County HR, who decided not to certify it and advised to reissue the recruitment. This was done to avoid potential future issues regarding compliance with General Orders. He acknowledged and took responsibility for this error.