2008-07-18 Police Commission Minutes

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Hawaii County Police Commission Regular Session Minutes July 18, 2008 Page 2 COMMUNICATIONS Commissioner Kaoiwi moved to accept the communications as listed. Vice Chair Whittemore seconded the motion. Discussion: Regarding Correspondence 08 -14, National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) annual conference, Commissioners Lassiter, Behenna, Whittemore, and Ms. Pelayo will attend. Chair Lassiter stated that she will make her own arrangements to fly to the mainland. COMMITTEE REPORTS • Budget and Finance (Whittemore / Kaoiwi) — No report. • Office Management and Staffing (Lassiter /Morimoto) —No report. • Rules and Policies (Behenna /Sumja) — No report. • Contractual Services (vacant) — No report. • Public Relations /Information (Lassiter /Behenna) — No report. CHIEF'S REPORT Including: • Crime: AC Henry Tavares briefly summarized the written crime report. Commissioner Behenna asked to have the data segregated by district. • Traffic: AC Derek Pacheco briefly summarized the written traffic report. Their aggressive driving enforcement has been quite effective, despite being short two people. Vice Chair Whittemore stated that he noticed a startling number of citations in June, a 90% jump since May. It seems like the traffic count doubled. He asked if there was a special effort to catch up. A.C. Pacheco stated that normally when school gets out, there is more traffic. There was no effort to catch up. Commissioner Whittemore inquired whether cars, involved in accidents and having no insurance, could be seized, sold, and the money used to repair the cars. A.C. Pacheco stated that seizing vehicles would have to be addressed at the state level. Chief Mahuna stated that there is a statewide law enforcement coalition. If this is a big issue, they coulc try to introduce it. They would need statistical data that is consistent with the law. Vice Chair Whittemore requested a geographical breakdown of the DUls. Commissioner Behenna asked what the difference was between a goal and a quota. Chief Mahuna stated that if a quota is not obtained, something punitive will happened. With a goal, there is no negative consequence. He is absolutely confident that a quota system is not happening in this county. Commissioner Kaoiwi stated that officers need to be careful when filling out citation forms and checking the correct boxes. He spoke of a situation where the matter was taken to court, and the paid citation had to be refunded.