2014-08-22 Police Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes August 22, 2014 Page 2 lock their cars even if it is in their garage, especially in the Waiakea area. Puna had a slight increase in burglaries not related to tropical storm Iselle. Burglary rates in Puna do fluctuate, and they continue working with CPOs and community watch groups. In Kona, they continue to have complaints of the homeless sleeping in cars and parks. They are working with community organizations to address this problem and have increased bike and foot patrol.Ka’u had a decrease in burglaries and thefts. They continue with police presence at night. They continue to education the public in crime prevention. Three drug warrants were executed in Ka’u last month. Traffic report by area, category, and trends: Assistant Chief Kealoha reported that in July, 3,509 citations were issued – 2,542 moving/regulatory, 233 seatbelt, 28 child restraint, and 706 speeding. The fatality count is the same as this time last year. No traffic trends were identified. They did not have storm related issues. Personnel report on vacancies, recruitment, training, promotions, severance from service, reallocations, and work assignments. Assistance Chief Kanehailua reported having 10 sworn vacancies. The current recruit class started with 16, but after 2 resignations, they now have 14. They will start another recruitment and will work with the current list of individuals who already took the written test. They now have to go through the agility test. The PO III selections should be in place by September 15.These are temporary promotions for specialized units such as Vice, Juvenile Aid Section, School Resource Officer, and Traffic Enforcement Unit. They have 24 civilian vacancies. An individual from the mainland turned down their offer for the criminalist position due to monetary issues. They have two openings in IT, one person retired and the other is a new position. They continue to have openings in dispatch. Finance report of budget and expenditures: Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported that due to the hurricane, officers had to work 12-hour shifts, and they spent a lot on overtime. Deputy Chief Ferreira stated that county funds pay for it all unless they get money from the Federal Government. Commendations of sworn and civilian employees: Chief Kubojiri reported receiving 6 commendations since the last meeting involving 14 personnel: S. Hilo - 3, Puna - 2, and Kona – 1. Other departmental activities: Chief Kubojiri reported that island-wide, they were well-prepared for tropical storm Iselle. Puna took the brunt of the storm. They couldn’t get access to Kapoho and lower Puna due to the downed trees and wires. There were reports of looting, mainly in social media. It was false and escalated the anxiety of people. Their entire CID personnel were put in uniform and patrolled the area in marked vehicles 24/7. The visibility of marked cars helped to comfort people. In addition, the National Guard was sent to Puna to make sure people were okay and to help relieve the anxiety level. Not having electricity was a big problem. Initially, the ice centers were pretty chaotic, and they ran out of ice. They posted