LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Police Department chief’s office is sparse. Bare walls and bookshelves surround furniture left over from the previous acting chief, the retired Wilfred “Willy” Ihu. But the new interim police chief, K.C. Lum, said he’s not worried
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Police Department chief’s office is sparse.
Bare walls and bookshelves surround furniture left over from the previous acting chief, the retired Wilfred “Willy” Ihu.
But the new interim police chief, K.C. Lum, said he’s not worried about getting his office in order. He’s too busy trying to straighten out KPD, and raise the morale of the officers he is leading, he said.
“It has been hectic,” Lum said in his new office last week. “There are a lot of things we need to complete.”
And he may not have a whole lot of time to finish his ambitious agenda. As he is a candidate for the permanent chief’s position, there is a chance members of the Kaua‘i Police Commission will chose someone other than Lum as the permanent successor to George Freitas, who retired last year.
With the department facing numerous lawsuits, a shortage of officers, a morale problem and a problem with public image, the third police chief in a year doesn’t have time to furnish his surroundings, especially since he is only the interim chief until July 31.
By then, members of the Police Commission will have hired a permanent chief out of the current six candidates.
Along with Lum, a number of KPD personnel, as well as off-island candidates, have applied for the position.
Two other candidates, one from KPD and one from the Mainland, apparently improperly filed their paperwork. A decision on whether they will be accepted without being notarized by a notary public will be made at a special Police Commission Meeting today.
But back to Lum’s agenda.
“I am trying to steer the department in a direction that is good for the public and good for us,” said Lum, who was dressed in civilian clothes and out of his normal uniform during an interview with The Garden Island last week.
“The ‘interim’ position is not going to hold me back. I still have full power as a regular chief of police,” said Lum.
And his first priority, he said, is to fix the morale of the department, which, he said, will cure many of the ills plaguing KPD.
“Morale is a huge problem,” Lum said. “I want to make every officer feel that they are wanted, and to provide the public with a lot better service than we have been.”
By raising the morale in the KPD, Lum said, officers will be more likely to stay, as opposed to running to other jobs in other departments and other agencies, as is one of the problems with officer retention now.
By having more officers around, police will be better able to respond to calls made by the public, thus giving them better service, he added.
Also, “the higher the morale is, the better the officers do the work,” the chief said.
Some officers, who agreed to be interviewed but would not furnish their names, had mixed feelings about Lum as the new chief.
The current problem, they all agreed, is that a couple of the KPD personnel who applied for the chief position believe that making Lum the interim chief gives him an advantage over the other candidates for the permanent position.
It appears that a police officer’s morale at present depends on whom he or she believes will clean up the department.
“Many others are more qualified” than Lum, said one officer at Lihu‘e headquarters. “Morale has gotten worse” since he started.
Another officer in the same building, an admitted Lum supporter, said that morale has gone up since he started.
“He was a good lieutenant in Hanalei. I’m one of his supporters, but I’d support anybody who wants a truthful and honest KPD,” the second officer said. “Hopefully, he does some good changes, like getting rid of dishonest cops.”
“He represents hope for truthful and honest cops,” he added, “if he gets done what he wants to get done.”
Another police officer, in Hanalei where Lum recently served as lieutenant, said he will support anyone willing to make the changes necessary to clean up the department.
“I’ve never seen so many high-ranking officers run to the doors for retirement” before this year, said the Hanalei officer. “It’s a puss boil that seems to have popped.”
As for Lum, “he tries to help as much as can. He is open to suggestions.
“Talk is cheap. We have a very bad name now,” he said. “It comes back to administration. You can be aware. You can see things happening.
“When an officer goes sour, it happens over time. In a small department, you should be able to see things coming,” said the Hanalei cop.
With the number of lawsuits, and rumors of outside investigations into KPD officers running rampant throughout Kaua‘i, leadership must come from the top, the Hanalei officer said.
He added that it must come from the chief, as well as the lieutenants and captains below him, whomever that they may be.
And Stanton Pa, former chair of the Police Commission and still a member (Victor Punua Sr. is chair), said the reason he voted to put in Lum is because he is a strong leader.
“He is a leader,” said Pa. “We cannot satisfy everybody.”
He said that when Lum was head of the Hanalei substation, he worked to change the place around.
“He did his homework,” Pa said, when Lum interviewed for the interim chief position. “He told me, ‘you’re going to be proud.’”
Michael Ching, Police Commission vice chairman, said he thought that Lum’s promotion would be beneficial.
“I think (morale) is going to go up. That’s why the Police Commission put him in there,” Ching said Monday.
Lum said that police officers and the public will not have to wait long to see changes.
“I want to change people’s perspective through action from us. All I can say is, it’s in the works,” Lum said. “The public (will) see results” soon.
Staff Writer Tom Finnegan may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mailto:tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.
