2024-08-30 Police Commission Regular Minutes

Home

Hawai'i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes August 30, 2024 Page 2 2024, there were 83 DUI arrests, compared to 83 in June. Additionally, in July 2024, 5,647 citations were issued, including 3,916 for moving/regulatory violations, 339 for seat belt violations, 37 for child restraint violations, and 1,087 for speeding. In response to questions raised at the previous meeting regarding traffic signals in the Kona area, particularly about the visibility of right and left turn arrows in certain lanes, AC Basque reported that Major Shopay had contacted Mr. Lee, who oversees State highways. According to Mr. Lee, the traffic signals are programmed for visibility based on lane position. Specifically, you can only see the turn arrow if you're in the designated lane for that turn. For example, if you're in the left-turn lane, you'll see the arrow, but if you're in the lane to the right or another lane, you won't. This is intentional to prevent confusion for drivers in straight-through lanes when their light turns green. Commissioner Quartararo commented that while he appreciates the response, he believes it's incomplete and disagrees with the explanation. Vice Chair Bertsch inquired whether the Kona Traffic Safety Meetings are still being held. AC Basque confirmed that they are. Vice Chair Bertsch suggested that it might be beneficial for Commissioner Quartararo to participate, as the committee specifically addresses traffic concerns. AC Basque added that they will look into the meeting schedule. AC Basque mentioned that Major Shopay addressed another concern about creating heat maps. He explained that they use a CompStat program linked to their records management system, Spillman. CompStat pulls data from Spillman, allowing them to use an interactive dashboard that can filter various parameters. He also distributed a few examples—printouts showing the type of information they can generate using this system. • Personnel Report: Acting Assistant Chief Evangelista reported that as of July 31, 2024, there are 90 sworn police vacancies in the field, minus 15 from the 99t" recruit class, 14 from the 100t" recruit class, and 16 in the 101 st recruit class, and they have 45 actual sworn positions unfilled. For police communication officers, they have 29 filled and 12 vacant. All five supervising police communication officer positions are fully staffed. Overall, the department has filled 439 of 484 sworn positions (91%) and 128 of 157 civilian positions (82%). Police Officer I Recruitment Activities: There are currently 15 recruits from the 99tn recruit class on FTO assignment until September 15t". This class originally began with 23 recruits in November 2023. The 100t" recruit class, which started with 17 recruits in April, now has 14 recruits in academic training until September 30t". For the 101St recruit class, 16 recruits are in academic training, set to continue until January 15, 2025. The 102nd recruit class is expected to begin on November 18t". Out of the 41 candidates who passed the written test, 32 attended the agility test, and they are on track to start with 20 recruits, although these numbers may change.