2004-08-13 Police Commission Minutes

Home

Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes August 13, 2004 Page 4 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Frazier motioned to approve the regular minutes of July 16, 2004. (Executive session was not held.) Commissioner Lassiter seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. PERSONNEL ORDERS Nos. 2004 -079 to 2004 -093 (Including but not limited to work assignments, training assignments, promotions, reallocations, severance from service, automobile allowances, and appointments.) Commissioner de Silva motioned to accept the personnel orders. Commissioner Muller seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. COMMUNICATIONS Commissioner Frazier motioned to accept communications as listed. Commissioner de Silva seconded the motion. Discussion: Vice Manago asked for the Chief Mahuna's opinion on Dr. Alan Pratt's recommendations on fleet vehicles. Chief Mahuna stated that they conducted their own investigation. The Police Chiefs on Maui and Kauai were sad to have a fleet program. Officer pride in the vehicles is marginal. They did a cost study of each vehicle, and found that a lot Mr. Pratt's visibility study is very old, from 1973. This fear, visibility of police officers seems to be relegated to a small section of West Hawaii. He has never received any complaints on the visibility of subsidized vehicles from East or Central Hawaii residents. Council Member Aaron Chung has a resolution on smart cars. It's a good idea, but they don't have the trunk radio system that can support this technology. A good trunk system would cost about $45 million. If the county had the money to support the infrastructure of these cars, including the three car pools, he might be convinced. But, they don't have that kind of money to invest in state of the art technology. What they have now is working right now. The majority of Honolulu's fleet is 1,365 subsidized vehicles. Of the 600 vehicles that are county- owned, half are paddy wagons, solo bikes, and vehicles not used in general patrol. Our county doesn't have the money to invest in the state of the art technology. What is working right now is the subsidized vehicles. The $45 million he mentioned is only for the infrastructure for the two -way radio system in the smart cars, not for the fleet of vehicles. To purchase the cars, they are looking in the range of $12 -14 million. There would be no state or federal subsidy. The county would be responsible for the cost. Corporation Counsel Ashida stated that the only way to facilitate that would be to increase property taxes, and that is a decision owned by the County Council alone. He inquired whether there had been any documented reported complaints made against the police department or its officers for not having marked vehicles in the magnitude of the Lisa Au incident in Tantalus on Oahu years ago.