2004-01-AU Hawai‘i County Police Department Vehicles

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B. Recommended Standard Markings of County Police Cars We find that some of the most compel ling trends in police work – community policing, the principle of transparency, the emergence of high -tech "smart cars3 – all point in the direction of community partnering, conspicuous professional ism, and service to the public. In the years ahead, this standard should prevail for the H awai ` i County Police Department. The standardi zed pol i ce patrol car marki ngs proposed by Law and Order magazi ne and presented i n Secti on 3 of this report provide guidance i n this area. N of al I county pol i ce cars need to be marked cars. A nati onwi de U. S. Department of Justi ce survey ci ted in this report indicates that for jurisdictions comparable to H awai ` i County (populations of 100,000- 249,999 resi dents), 42% of pol i ce cars are unmarked. Typi cal I y, many cars used by pol i ce admi ni strati ve personnel and detecti ves are unmarked; a quota of " undercover' cars i s commonpl ace i n pol i ce work. M any pol i ce departments al I ow a take -home pol i cy, i nd udi ng personal use of marked patrol cars, by thei r officers. Accordingly, we have not seen a legitimate reason why county-subsidized cars should not be pai nted a standard col or and promi nentl y marked wi th the H CPD shi d d to enhance thei r vi si bi I i ty and prof essi onal appearance, wi thout otherwi se al teri ng the department's eci sti ng personal use pol i c es. Short of any parti al or comp) ete conversi on to county -owned pol i ce package vehi d es, the i ssue of " pol i ce vi si bi I i ty" i n H awai ` i County can be resol ved, i n I age part, by admi ni strati ve di recti ve and the wi I I to do so. Whi I e i nscri pti on of pri vatel y owned vehi cl es may not be requi red pursuant to §105-7 and §105-8, H RS (per Corporati on Counsel opi ni on), such i nscri pti on may be i nstituted by a general order di restive from the Pol i ce Chi ef, i n I i ne wi th many other regul atory sped f cati ons i mposed on subsi di zed vehi cl es i n County police service. We urge the H awai ` i County Pot i ce Department to reconsi der i is posture toward unmarked pol i ce cars. For a I aw enforcement agency whose hi stori c mi ssi on i s to " serve and protect," i t i s i I I -advi sed to persi st i n defendi ng a pol i cy of unmarked cars i n an era when publ i c safety and assurance are ever more I i nked to conspi cuous i denti f i cati on of essenti al, f i rst responder publ i c safety provi ders. I n thi s matter, an ethi c of forthri ght publ i c servi ce shoul d prevai 1. C. Recommended Revisions of the Automobile Allowance Subsidy I f conti nued, the subsi dy program shout d be rev sed to ref I ect: (1) greater accountabi I i ty of documented rei mbursabl a costs for the use of personal cars for off ci al pot i ce duty; (2) a formul a del i neati ng the percentage of offi c al use costs from off -duty personal use costs; and (3) an adj ustment of the gasol i ne i ssuance rati o of 1 gaol I on per 10 off i ci al duty mi I es to a rati o i n conformance wi th the actual mi I es per gal I on (mpg) performance of subsi di zed cars. D. Strategic Conversion to Police Package Vehicles We bet i eve that any maj or conversi on to a county -owned or I eased f I eet of Detroi t manufactured " pol i ce package' cars and " speci al ty servi od' vehi d es shout d occur onl y after – (1) The Pot i ce Department undertakes a methodical assessment of its patrolling needs—i.e., how woul d pot i ce package cars enhance patrol performance and off i cer capabi I i ti es i n each of the ei ght pot i ce di stri cts? What strategi c publ i c safety obj ecti ves woul d be accompl i shed? What are the needs for 4 -wheel drive and other specialty vehi des? How many are needed? How many cars shout d have a backseat " cage" for detai nee transport? I deal I y, what mix of standard and sped al ty