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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-10-12 Police Commission Minutes HAWAI‘I POLICE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES OCTOBER 12, 2012 WEST HAWAI‘I CIVIC CENTER CALL TO ORDER Chair Ono called the meeting to order at 9:07 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Kenneth T. Ono, Chair. Carol R. Ignacio, Vice Chair Paul W. Horner, Commissioner Ka‘ili Pe‘a-Ferrari, Commissioner Guy K. Schutte, Commissioner Leroy J. Victorine, Commissioner Absent: Michelle L. Kualii, Commissioner Jessanie L. Marques, Commissioner Donn S. Mende, Commissioner Also Present: Harry S. Kubojiri, Police Chief Marshall Kanehailua, Assistant Chief Paul Kealoha, Assistant Chief Henry Tavares, Assistant Chief Samuel Kawamoto, Captain Lincoln S. T. Ashida, Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Victorine moved to approve the agenda. Vice Chair Ignacio seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Commissioner Schutte entered at 10:11 a.m. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Victorine moved to approve the minutes of September 14, 2012, regular and executive sessions. Commissioner Horner seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. POLICE CHIEF’S REPORT ON DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITIES Including, but not limited to: Crime report by area, category, and trends. Assistant Chief Tavares reported that up through September 30, there were 2,405 serious crimes, of which 663 cases were investigated by the Area I and II Investigation Units. They received 7,431 calls for service, of which 2,464 were criminal and traffic incidences and 4,967 were for miscellaneous public assistance. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes October 12, 2012 Page 2 Crime trends going back to August, they noticed burglars in Hawaiian Paradise Park targeting unattended homes during the day. They continue with information sharing and pawn shop checks. There were increased burglaries in Hilo and Kona. In Hilo, they have a special enforcement unit which has been addressing this issue. In Kona, joint efforts by patrol, CID, and their special enforcement unit led to the arrest of three suspects. In October, there was a decrease in burglaries in Hilo and Kona. Assistant Chief Kealoha reported that to date in October, they had only one burglary in West Hawaii. They think they have all the right people behind bars right now. It’s a small group of people doing a large portion of the crimes. People have been vigilant, and there have been more activity with the neighborhood watches. Vice Chair Ignacio stated that she heard comments that the police department has a real interest in soliciting information from the community, and that the public feels they can make a difference. Assistant Chief Tavares stated that Community Police Officers have set up an information booth at Wal-Mart and the Prince Kuhio Plaza on alternating Fridays. They have displays on how to secure your home and hand out informational fliers. Approximately a hundred people stopped by the booths. Traffic report by area, category, and trends. Assistant Chief Kealoha reported that during the month of September, 4,642 citations were issued for the following violations: 3,238 moving/regulatory, 348 seatbelt, 59 child restraint, and 997 speeding. They had 16 fatalities compared to 5 last year. For traffic trends, crashes remain constant. They are focused on the major intersections. The major cause for the accidents is inattention to driving, resulting in rear-end collisions. They continue enforcement in the main thoroughfares. The accident rates remain constant. North Hilo had 10 accidents which are quite a bit for a small district. Hmkua had 12 accidents. They continue with aggressive enforcement and officer presence on Route 19. In Puna, Highways 130 and 11, Kahakai Boulevard, and Pahoa Village Road are where the majority of traffic crashes occur. They continue with enforcement and officer presence. In West Hawai‘i, they do not have any identifiable trends. Accident rates remain constant. Due to the Ironman Triathlon, they are seeing an increase in traffic and accidents. Sometimes the drivers are foreigners and are not familiar with our rules of the road. They had another fatality involving visitors on a rental motorcycle in North Kohala. Chair Ono asked who makes the decision on installing traffic signal lights on county roads. Assistant Tavares thought it is determined by Public Works who does get input from the Police Department. Chief Kubojiri stated that the Traffic Services Division sends out their engineers to make the determination. Chair Ono stated that the Pahoa town intersection is very busy and it is very hard to pull out onto the highway. Assistant Chief Tavares said that location is unique in that it’s a State highway and County Road. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes October 12, 2012 Page 3 Vice Chair Ignacio stated that yellow lines on the roadways are more visible than white lines. She asked if they could think about or promote painting crosswalks yellow. The bulk of crosswalk deaths are our Kupunas. Assistant Chief Kealoha stated that it would depend on whether the roadway is State or County. Some crosswalks have reflectors within the crosswalk. Assistant Chief Tavares stated yellow lines separate traffic in opposite directions, so you don’t normally drive over yellow lines. In both Hilo and Kona, there are flags for crosswalks. Vice Chair Ignacio stated that the zigzag lines in Downtown Hilo helps. Commissioner Victorine stated that Kanoelehua Avenue has several crosswalks that are away from the intersections. It crosses two lanes in both directions with a median in the center. People have to stop on the median, cars do not pay attention, and it’s very dangerous. Assistant Chief Tavares said they will take a look at these crosswalks. Personnel report on vacancies, recruitment, training, promotions, reallocations, severance from service, and work assignments. Assistant Kanehailua reported having 37 sworn vacancies which included the 21 recruits. They started a recruit class with 25. On the first day one person called saying he was not interested. The second day another dropped out. About a week in, two other recruits felt it wasn’t for them. So, they are now down to 21. They got more recruit dropout than anticipated, but it’s better sooner than later when they are on the road. On October 7, they started their new recruitment. Testing will be in December, agility in January, and background checks will follow. They hope to start the class around June- July. They will be interviewing for sergeant’s promotions. Major Weber filed for retirement. They will be doing their PO III promotions which are CPOs, SROs, Vice, and TEU. This has to be timed with the sergeant’s promotions because a lot of officers are on both lists. They are hoping to fill all positions. The civilian vacancies have nothing new. In their next budget cycle which will be submitted in November, they will add defunded clerical positions. The budget will be submitted to the County in November, and meetings will be held in January-February. Finance report of budget and expenditures. Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported that they are tracking about the same amount. Some adjustments will be made to ensure they have the funding to accommodate this fiscal year’s budget. They don’t anticipate any major changes in the budget other than maintenance agreements with their Technical Services Department, Records Management System, and the camera project in Downtown Hilo and Puna. The CALEA accreditation conference is set for November 14-16 when they go before the assessment board to answer questions. They will be sending the accreditation manager, his team of two people, and the Chief. The Mayor has also been invited. They need to be prepared for every question that may come up. He is confident that they will come back as an accredited Police Department. Vice Chair Ignacio asked if recruits are checked for things such as anger management and alcohol abuse. Assistant Chief Kanehailua said, “Yes.” He further stated that the Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes October 12, 2012 Page 4 background check is very extensive. They check with neighbors, friends, family, workers, co-workers, spouses, ex-spouses, and employers. They look at any little clue that may raise flags later. Commendations of sworn and civilian employees. Chief Kubojiri reported receiving 12 commendations since the last meeting. Other departmental activities including those related to administration and operations. Chief Kubojiri reported that he and Deputy Chief Ferreira attended the annual International Association of Police Chiefs in San Diego. There were a lot of different training sessions, and approximately 17,000 people attended. Subject matters ranged from personnel issues to crime trends. They had sessions on officer’s attitude and contact with the public, so this is a concern around the world. They attended a lecture on transparency and how it is helping police departments. However, there are still thousands of police departments who don’t have that transparency and don’t work with the media. It was a very good conference. On Thursday, they will have another community meeting in South Kona in the Konawaena cafeteria. They will be giving an update on the burglary situation. Prosecutor Charlene Iboshi will be there to give a status report. Chair Ono asked if they would be addressing the issue of the police returning phone calls. AC Kealoha stated that they are prepared to cover that. Chief Kubojiri reported that the governor is putting together a committee to look at and implement a program to notify victims when the defendant is to be released. Chief Kubojiri stated that for recruit applications, the background checks are intensive. They do psychological and polygraph exams. Chief Kubojiri stated that regarding returning phone calls, staff is still working on a policy. It is about 99% completed. AC Kanehailua reported that they are working with Commissioners Schutte and Horner on the Aloha Training. They will start with the commanders first to get dialog and input. Vice Chair Ignacio stated she heard Mayor Kenoi say that he has gotten a lot of positive feedback regarding the commander’s meetings in each district. Vice Chair Ignacio inquired about the child porn case that was in the news recently. Chief Kubojiri stated that the FBI has a unit that monitors child pornography over the internet. They have one in Honolulu. A lot of times someone reports something and it tips them off. They have had cases where members of the community complained about suspicious behavior. These people prey on children, and they need help. Recess was called at 9:55 a.m. The meeting reconvene10:04 a.m. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes October 12, 2012 Page 5 EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner Schutte moved to meet in executive session to consider discipline and charges against officers or employees of the Hawai‘i Police Department, to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety, and to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the Hawai‘i County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Pe‘a-Ferrari seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 10:05 a.m. Regular session reconvened at 11:22 a.m. ACTION ON EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS Complaint HPC 12-31: Complainant was issued a citation for soliciting business in a park. He alleged that the officer violated his civil and constitutional rights. Commissioner Horner moved that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant’s allegations of police misconduct. Commissioner Victorine seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Ono announced that the Police Commission’s next monthly meeting will be on November 16, 2012, at 9:00 a.m., at the Waimea Community Center, Department of Parks and Recreation, 62-1260 Kawaihae Road, Kamuela. Collection of files and documents. – Done. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:27 p.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: KENNETH T. ONO, CHAIR