Laserfiche WebLink
MR. CADINHA: Would a commissioner have any <br /> abilit ? For example,specific geographic accountability? p , a commissioner <br /> from Waimea, would his responsibility or would anything happening <br /> in that particular area be his responsibility? I 'm trying to <br /> get to the working so that I can understand how youccanqintegrate <br /> for a more powerful commission. <br /> MR. AUSTIN: I think it is well to have this <br /> selection by districts. The mayor should appoint someone {from <br /> each of the districts because then that commissioner would be <br /> en to the commission , as a whole, as to the <br /> able to make comments <br /> level of enforcement in his district. Where the crime problems <br /> seem to be. He may not be a criminologist, or an ex-policeman, <br /> but I 'm sure he knows if his community is suffering an undue . <br /> amount of auto thefts or burglaries, or whatnot. I think if <br /> the commission was appointed without regard to district represenit- <br /> ation , then we might end up with a situation where four or five <br /> members were from Hilo and one from Ka' u and that would be <br /> about it. Which would hardly be representation of the problems <br /> around the island. <br /> MR. CADINHA: My question ismore towards the <br /> operations. In other words, would there be any authority <br /> dispersed according to geography to where the person came from? <br /> Or do they all just sit in a committee function and reign more <br /> or less and give policy from the committee? Or do they have <br /> the geographic policy of responsibility? I don ' t know how this <br /> would work. <br /> MR. AUSTIN : Well , I 'm not, as I said, I 'm not <br /> an expert on this subject either and it is just my own opinion. <br /> I would think the commission should act as .a whole and that, <br /> say, the representative from Kamuela shouldn ' t have any <br /> particular bearingon the administration of the laws in Kamuela <br /> so that they could be differencf than they would be in Kona. <br /> They should be the same, island wide. I 'm only thinking of <br /> bringing to the attention of the police, in an effective way <br /> through the commission, the problems that exist and then seeing <br /> that they keep the pressure on until the police have resolved <br /> those problems. But, again, , the commission acting as a whole, <br /> and not as a representative of Kamuela saying that he represents <br /> this district 'and if a crime is committed here that he has some <br /> special interest it. None of that at all. That shouldn ' t be <br /> because one thing you don ' t want to have is a commissioner that • <br /> will 'intercede in, the investigation of a case or in <the <br /> adjudication of it or into personnel matters&.and feel that this <br /> policeman, this captain from his district is a good guy and <br /> regardless of what he may be charged with, heis from here and <br /> therefore you are going to support him. <br /> The commission should take an island wide <br /> philosophybut by coming from the different districts they would <br /> be knowledgable about the law enforcement problems in those <br /> districts. That is' about , th.e , extent of it:. You may want to <br /> carry it farther than that but to me that seems a good place to <br /> leave it. <br /> -9- <br />