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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-05-17 Police Commission Minutes HAWAI‘I POLICE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES MAY 17, 2013 WAIMEA CIVIC CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM CALL TO ORDER Chair Victorine called the meeting to order at 9:07 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Leroy J. Victorine, Chair John M. Bertsch, Commissioner Robert G. Gomes, Sr., Commissioner Keith T. Morioka, Commissioner Kenneth T. Ono. Commissioner T. KaÒili PeÒa-Ferrari, Commissioner Guy K. Schutte, Commissioner Excused: Carol R. Ignacio, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also Present: Harry Kubojiri, Police Chief Paul Ferreira, Deputy Chief Marshall Kanehailua, Assistant Chief Paul Kealoha, Assistant Chief Henry Tavares, Assistant Chief Alan Kimura, Detective Brian Prudencio, Detective Lincoln S. T. Ashida, Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary Chair Victorine welcomed Robert Gomes, new commissioner from Council District 6. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Schutte moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Ono seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS Î None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Morioka moved to approve the minutes of April 19, 2013, regular and executive sessions. Commissioner PeÒa-Ferrari seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. POLICE CHIEF’S REPORT ON DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITIES Including, but not limited to: HawaiÒi Police Commission Regular Session Minutes May 17, 2013 Page 2 Crime report by area, category, and trends: Assistant Chief Tavares reported that up to the end of April, there were 6,995 serious crimes. For the month of April, the department received 7,699 calls for service Î 2,289 for criminal/traffic and 5,410 for miscellaneous public assistance. For crime trends, Hilo burglaries decreased. Their special enforcement unit continues to put the pressure on individual groups. An individual who was committing most of the burglaries in Hilo went into hiding in the Volcano area, and hence burglaries increased in Puna. The individual has since been arrested, and they anticipate a decrease in Area I burglaries. There were no crime trends detec Hmkua, South and North Kohala, and KaÓu. Kona experienced some camping violations with the homeless and juveniles drinking in public. Community policing officers are addressing these issues with enforcement and education. Traffic report by area, category, and trends: Assistant Chief Kealoha reported that for the month of April, a total of 4,011 citations were issued Î 2,772 for moving/regulatory, 257 for seatbelts, 49 for child restraint, and 933 for speeding. The DUI arrests and fatality count is down from last year at this sa For traffic trends, South Hilo reported 33 major traffic accidents. It seems to be consistent with cause and location. They scheduled traffic enfo speeding on Saddle Road. North Hilo and Hmkua had no trends. Puna had a 21% decrease in major traffic crashes which can be attributed to speeding. There were no traffic trends in South and North Kohala, Kona, and KaÓu. Commissioner Bertsch asked why they were targeting the Saddle Road. Assistant Chief Tavares stated that because of the design of the road, they have come across motorists driving in excess of 100 mph. There is a very dangerous area at the 11 mile marker going towards Hilo where the road narrows down and is winding. They are also working with the State on traffic devices to slow motorists down. Commissioners Bertsch stated that he wants to be sure they donÓt focus so much on the Saddle Road that they are neglecting other areas. Commissioner Tavares said that is not happening. Commissioner Ono stated that the Saddle Road is now a commuter road. If you drive 55 mph, people zoom past you. Personnel report on vacancies, recruitment, training, promotions, reallocations, severance from service, and work assignments: Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported that they now have 43 sworn vacancies. Within the last two weeks, three officers decided to take a different career path. Nineteen recruits will be on the road on July 16. They have vacancies for 3 captains, 4 lieutenants, and 9 sergeants. They have 19 PO III positions that need to be filled. These are for CPOs, SROs, and various specialized units. With transfers, there will be a total of 51 different moves in the next month or so. They have 5 intergovernmental movements, persons who are already seasoned officers. One officer has about 22-23 years service with the Honolulu PD. The others have 2-9 years. They are now working with Field Training HawaiÒi Police Commission Regular Session Minutes May 17, 2013 Page 3 officers and will be on the road around June 1-15. Unlike the new recruits, these officers have minimal training to go through. The 19 recruits are scheduled to hit the road on July 16. For civilian vacancies, Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported that they have 5 dispatcher vacancies. The Puna Operations Clerk was promoted to vacancy was filled by a clerk from Puna, so that position has to be filled. A former Police Commissioner was hired as a clerk in their Training Department. There will be an additional sergeant in KaÓu, North Kohala, and Kona TEU. The temporary CALEA sergeant will be permanent. CID will get another detective. Patrol will get their sergeant back. There will be a new lieutenantÓs position on North Hilo. In response to questions, he stated that the Federal sequestration has not affected them. Finance report of budget and expenditures: Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported that targeted expenditures at the end of April were at 87%. They are tracking at 83%. They sent out their expenditure report to the commanders for their review so they could move things around as needed. The Mayor is going around the island to solicit input from the community on the budget. They asked for all unfunded positions to be put back into the budget and asked for some increases in IT and other areas. In the last 3 years that he has being going through the budget, the commanders have held the line in budget cutbacks, but services remain high. As they get more manpower they will be able to increase their services. Commissioner Bertsch stated that in the past years that he was on commission, he doesnÓt think he has ever seen a report where the overtime wages 100%. Salaries were at 83% and overtime is at 102%. Assistant Chief Kanehailua explained that the budget was pushed back one day. The printout move. Another thing to consider is that they were at full staff a few years ago, and overtime was reduced. In the last year or so, they had retirements, individuals took on new positions, and the vacancies increased and overtime incre activation also added to the overtime. Deputy Chief Ferreira stated that during the budget hearings, they are always asked if they budgeted enough for overtime. In law enforcement and public safety, the question of what is enough always comes up. One tsunami, one fire, and ten murders will increase their overtime budget beyond what they can estimate. For the last four years, because of the fiscal crunch, their overtime budget has been status quo. Commissioner Bertsch stated that the burden falls on the CommissionÓs shoulders whether the personnel in the field are managed correctly so that overtime. Assistant Chief Kanehailua stated that they have had a status quo reduced budget for years. He can say with confidence that they have been supervising their personnel very well without affecting services. Additionally, when overtime is earned, officers need to elect to take compensatory time off or overtime pay, and most are taking the overtime pay. HawaiÒi Police Commission Regular Session Minutes May 17, 2013 Page 4 Commendations of sworn and civilian employees: Chief Kubojiri reported having 10 commendations involving 41 personnel since the last commission meeting. Other departmental activities: Chief Kubojiri reported that this is the last day of National Police Week. The ceremonies in Hilo and Kona went well. Officers Joshua Gouveia and Garrett Hatada, who received gunshot wounds earlier this year, were recognized. They have not returned to work yet. Regarding overtime, this past year their civilian personnel were on furlough for two days. This year they are on one day furlough. The workload is just have one less day to work on it. Most of their paperwork is time sensitive. The furloughs will end in July. Regarding Saddle Road, the conditions of the road, high speed, and feral animals have been a big problem that contributes to traffic accidents. As far as enforcement, they are concentrating on areas that they foresee having a potential for bad traffic accidents. They would rather have drivers voluntarily comply with the speed limit, but they know it doesnÓt happen. During the month of May, they put out a media release asking the public to participate in their satisfaction survey. They did this in the past two years. This gives the public an opportunity to express issues that they have. In the end, he will combine the most common issues and respond on the website as he did in the past. On May 8, there was an article in the Star Advertiser about an incident at Hilo airport where a man sent some luggage through with a pressure cooker. That sent out all kinds of alarms with everybody. He gave kudos to the TSA workers in Hilo. The FBI got involved, and they assisted the FBI. The system worked. TSA did their job; they notified the FBI and the police. All went well. Commissioner Bertsch commended Chief Kubojiri for the job he is doing and his tremendous amount of public speaking. He appreciates the efforts he puts forward to the community because it makes the officers and the community feel comfortable, and he only hears great things. Secondly, they had a wonderful opportunity with Police Week at the Kona police station, and Deputy Chief Ferreira did a phenomenal job. Lastly, Honolulu PD was hacked in their public emergency information system. He asked how HawaiÒi County is doing. Chief Kubojiri said they checked it out, and they are all good. Regarding the Federal sequestration, it does impact some grants, but so far those programs have been able to absorb most of the cuts. An example is the Feds are able to use funds from unfunded positions from prior years. Recess was called at 9:53 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 10:08 a.m. HawaiÒi Police Commission Regular Session Minutes May 17, 2013 Page 5 EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner PeÒa-Ferrari moved to consider discipline and charges against officers or employees of the HawaiÒi Police Department, to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety, and to consult with Corporation Counsel on questi to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the HawaiÒi County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Schutte seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 10:10 a.m. Regular session reconvened at 11:38 a.m. ACTION ON BY THE COMMISSION Complaint HPC 12-47: Complainant alleged that when officers executed a writ of possession and ejection, they caused her bodily injury and emotional distress. She also complained about her treatment following her arrest. Commissioner Bertsch moved to continue the complaint to the next meeting. Commissioner Gomes seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Victorine announced that the Police CommissionÓs next monthly meeting will be on June 21, 2013, at 9:00 a.m., in the Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi St., Hilo, HawaiÒi. Collection of files and documents. Î Done. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: LEROY J. VICTORINE, CHAIR