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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-18 Police Commission Regular MinutesHAWAII POLICE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES JANUARY 18, 2019 WEST HAWAII CIVIC CENTER 74-5044 ANE KEOHOKALOLE HWY, KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII CALL TO ORDER Chair De Luz called the meeting to order at 9:06 a.m. Chair De Luz presented Commissioner Hendricks with a Certificate of Appreciation from Mayor Kim for his five years of service on the Police Commission. ROLL CALL Present: Wayne De Luz, Chair Colleen Pasco, Vice Chair Carl Carlson, Commissioner Peter Hendricks, Commissioner Joan Obra, Commissioner Paul Paiva, Commissioner Absent: Jak Hu, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also Present: Paul Ferreira, Police Chief Kenneth Bugado, Deputy Police Chief Mitchell Kanehailua, Assistant Chief Samuel Thomas, Assistant Chief Robert Wagner, Major Burt Shimabukuro, Captain Malia Hall, Deputy Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS (None) APPROVAL OF MINUTES December 21, 2018, regular and executive session minutes: Commissioner Carlson motioned to approve the minutes. Commissioner Paiva seconded, and it carried unanimously. POLICE CHIEF'S REPORT ON DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES • Crime Report: Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported that through December, there were 3,961 serious crimes. Of these, the Criminal Investigation Units investigated 516 of those cases. Ka'u had a slight increase in burglaries. Hawaii Ocean View Estates still has a problem with burglaries. Auto thefts remain a problem, and they do not want to view auto theft as a norm. They have the same culprits who come out of incarceration return to thieving. Specialized units are being mobilized. They are trying to quell the spikes before it becomes a problem. In December, they h ad 8,778 calls for service. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 18, 2019 Page 2 Commissioner Carlson stated that it seems like a revolving door. They come out of jail, and the thefts start up again. He asked what could be done. Assistant Chief Kanehailua stated that he doesn't want to blame the prosecutor. In a lot of these cases, if an individual commits multiple offenses, it is lumped together and the more serious cases are addressed. He wants to reassure the commission that they are working on it. Officers are keeping an eye on who is being released. Sometimes people are not familiar with the registration process and the possibly of buying a stolen vehicle. Commissioner Carlson stated that it's like a catch and release. As soon as somebody is out of incarceration, something happens. The penalty doesn't fit the crime. Chair De Luz asked if the Prosecutor could make recommendations. AC Kanehailua stated that the new legislature is in session, and now is the time to make changes. Chair De Luz asked if they could ask the Prosecutor to make a presentation to the commission on this issue at the next meeting. AC Kanehailua stated that if someone is charged with numerous cases, prosecutors could wheedle it down to a few charges. Major Wagner stated that Hawaii is a "hand -tied" state. It started with Governor Abercrombie when he released five thousand people to cut funding. They need to pick and choose. He doesn't see it getting any better. Chair De Luz stated that they need to voice their concerns. As a general statement, he asked who would be incarcerated, the murders and rapists and the thieves are let out? Major Wagner stated that they know there is going to be a spike because of past history. They've had laws on mandatory sentencing, but the laws change. • Traffic Report: Major Wagner reported that as of FY December 18 they had 406 traffic crashes and 17 traffic fatalities. For the month of December, 4,495 citations were issued: moving/regulatory 3,299, seatbelt 258, child restraint 25, and speeding 913. Personnel Report: Assistant Chief Thomas reported that newly promoted Captain John Briski took over Puna this month. Twenty-two officers are in academic training. On February 1, they will start a new class with only 9 recruits. HR has put out another notice for police officer vacancies. The written test will be given in February and agility test in March. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 18, 2019 Page 3 They have 5 dispatch vacancies, which is a concern. Another test will be given at the end of the month. School crossing guard positions are difficult to fill because they only work one hour in the morning and one in the afternoon. Finance Report: They met with County Finance on January 4. Their Budget of $69,309,017 came back unchanged. They are constantly told by the County that it has to be a status quo budget. They went ahead and submitted a supplemental budget for first line supervisors. They want 24-hour supervision, especially in the smaller districts. They are trying to increase dispatching personnel. The Puna dispatcher also handles Ka'u. Puna has a lot of violence. HOVE is cheaper to live, so a lot of people are moving there, and so Ka'u has been getting a lot of calls for service. They want another radio console to handle Ka'u. To add another one, they will need to hire 5 more dispatchers. This accounts for the 24/7 schedule. The new dispatch center will have room for more dispatchers. Commendations of Sworn and Civilian Employees: Chief Ferreira reported that since the last meeting, they received 4 commendations involving 27 personnel. Other Department Activities: Chief Ferreira reported that the trend has been to not put people in jail, but to release them because of funding. They are looking at what can be done with pretrial detainees because of funding. They are looking at what can be done with overcrowding. They are always looking at the laws. He discussed the budget with the Mayor, and was told to put in what they need. They submitted supplemental budgets for equipment and personnel. It's a tight budget, and he doesn't know if they will get anything. Their primary focus is on their supervisory personnel which is lacking. When they first went for accreditation, they were told supervision was lacking. Their reaccreditation is coming up, and they need to show that they are doing what they report. So far they are on track. Chair De Luz asked about the status of the Law Enforcement Standards Board. Chief Ferreira stated that this passed at the last legislature. They are looking at standardized training for all law enforcement, not just police. Even tax investigators have to go through the same training. All four police counties are CALEA accredited and have the same standards and training that they need. All police in Hawaii didn't support the bill. They told them to create a task force and look into it first. It passed, but now they can't do it. They need to separate the entities, fund, and staff the board. The legislature was asked to go back and make amendments. He will send a copy of the bill and the changes to the commission. Chief told the commissioners to let him know if they wanted to visit the recruit class. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 18, 2019 Page 4 CHAIR'S REPORT ON OTHER COMMISSION ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS Chair De Luz reported that they borrowed the Fire Commission's Program of Work for their commissioners and the Fire Chief as a sample template for them to use. He would like to discuss this further at the next meeting. They expect to have all nine commissioners on board soon. The yearly meeting schedule has been distributed and the commissioners were asked to inform Ms. Pelayo if they are unable to attend any of the meetings. He also noted that the State of Hawaii Police Commissioners' Conference is scheduled for April 25-26. EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner Hendricks motioned to meet in executive session to consider charges against officers or employees of the Hawaii Police Department where matters affecting privacy will be involved, to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety, and may 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 Hawaii County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Vice Chair Pasco seconded, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 10:15 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 11:21 a.m. ACTION ON EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS Complaint HPC 18-35: Complainant alleged that two officers evicted his tenant from his house at the request of someone who claimed to be his tenant. Commissioner Paiva motioned to refer the complaint to the Police Chief for further investigation. Vice Chair Pasco seconded, and it carried unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair De Luz announced that the next monthly meeting is scheduled for February 8, 2019, at 9:00 a.m., in the Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi St., Hilo, Hawaii. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 11:25 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: WAYNE K. DE LUZ, CHAIR