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Hawaii Police Commission <br />‘ <br />Regular Session Minutes <br />February 17, 2012 <br />Page 3 <br />Commendations <br />: Chief Kubojiri expressed his appreciation to Commissioner Sumja <br />for his support over the years. He welcomed Guy Schutte who will be replacing Sumja <br />on the commission. They received 12 commendations since the last meeting. <br />Other Department Activities: <br /> Chief Kubojiri briefed the commission on the recent <br />brush fire in Kona. Their primary concern was to get the elderly people out of the <br />housing area with buses. One person complained about the traffic, but it was out of <br />their control. Regarding the traffic cams, whenever they have emergencies, the traffic <br />gets backed up, and even more people run the red lights. They all know that area <br />already has traffic congestion, and the fire made it worse. It was a chaotic mess. <br />Kudos goes to their Kona crew. <br />Chief Kubojiri further reported that at a previous County Council Finance Committee <br />meeting, Councilmember Ford made a resolution to have every officer equipped with a <br />hand held radio. What concerned HPD is that they didn’t have the funding budgeted <br />for the radios for this fiscal year, and she wanted to take monies from other <br />departments to give to police. The $250,000 she is asking for will only purchase just <br />over 100 radios. While Ms. Ford inferred that police do not have enough portable <br />radios, there are sufficient radios for the uniformed patrol division. Portable radios are <br />rotated at the conclusion of each shift. One set is being charged, while one set is being <br />used by those on duty. Currently, they have to account for the radio by signing in and <br />out. Ms. Ford wants each officer to be assigned a radio. In constructing a “Take- <br />Home” portable radio policy, consideration was given to determine whether or not the <br />officer would be entitled to compensation for taking the portable radio home and <br />th <br />charging it, etc. During the Committee meeting on February 14, Ms. Ford said things <br />that were misleading and not accurate. Additionally, there is a federal mandate to <br />upgrade public safety communication systems to a narrow band system in January <br />2013. The portable radios must also be upgraded to be in compliance with the federal <br />mandate. <br />In response to questions regarding the take home portable radios, Chief Kubojiri stated <br />that if the radios are taken home, and it is used, the officer would be “working” and <br />most likely has to be compensated. The policy needs to be explicitly clear about its <br />use, and that there will be no compensation for charging the battery at home. They <br />recently met with the union on this matter and have agreed on the policy governing the <br />“Take-Home” portable radio. If the radio is lost, misplaced or stolen, their current <br />technology cannot disable it from the system. Commissioner Ignacio expressed <br />concern that people in the household would be exposed to information from the radio. <br />Chief Kubojiri stated that their portable radio policy mirrors their laptop policy. Officers <br />will not be authorized to turn on or use the portable radio unless they are working or <br />authorized to do so by their supervisor. <br />Chief Kubojiri reported that the majority of last year’s traffic fatalities involved drug <br />and/or alcohol use. The Department of Education is partnered with them to educate <br />students on the dangers of drinking and driving. They continue to receive grant funding <br />for DUI check points. The Kona district has a high DUI arrest count. It’s disturbing to <br /> <br />