LIHU‘E — More feet on the beat. That’s what Kaua‘i Police Department officials said they need most to do their jobs better for the 2012 fiscal year, which starts July 1. The department has 18 sworn vacancies and is expected
LIHU‘E — More feet on the beat.
That’s what Kaua‘i Police Department officials said they need most to do their jobs better for the 2012 fiscal year, which starts July 1.
The department has 18 sworn vacancies and is expected to lose at least six senior officers to retirement, according to KPD’s 2012 budget presentation delivered Tuesday to the Kaua‘i County Council.
“We’ve always had a problem filling the positions in the department,” said Councilman Mel Rapozo, a former police officer.
Although the police administration has done an exceptional job of filling vacancies, he said, police numbers are low because of natural attrition, retirement and the department’s high standards for officers.
Chief Darryl Perry has expanded the police beat structure, Rapozo said, but doesn’t have the manpower to fill it.
“We need to see more beats on the island,” the councilman said.
Police said that recruitment often presents difficulties, but Kaua‘i has additional challenges.
“Unqualified candidates, small pool base, individuals not wanting to pursue a law enforcement career, competitive job market, cost of living … coupled with past organizational mistrust promoted by the media, blogs, literature and the like,” KPD’s budget presentation states. “However, we continue to overcome those challenges and in the past three years KPD has graduated 26 new officers.”
It has also promoted two assistant chiefs, three captains, three lieutenants and seven sergeants. KPD expects to bring in the 82nd Recruit Class with 10 to 15 new officers.
Councilman Tim Bynum agreed that more police officers is a high priority for the department and public safety as a whole.
“Right now funding is not an obstacle to doing that,” he said.
Recruitment has been an ongoing issue for police, but the department’s new administration has been hacking away at the problem, reducing vacancies from about 30 to 18.
“The police department is improving steadily each year,” Bynum said, adding that police have done a better job of screening applicants so they are more likely to stay on the force.
The department’s budget for FY12 increased 8.2 percent, about $2 million. According to the presentation, the increases are primarily due to collective bargaining agreements in salaries and benefits.
Salary and benefits represent about 68 percent of the $26.45 million budget for next fiscal year.
Bynum said last year’s county budget included six months of furloughs. Since those have ended, the county will have to go back to paying full-time salaries. While this was less of an issue for the police department as officers did not have to take unpaid leaves of absence, Hawai‘i Government Employment Association workers for the department did. Bynum also attributed the increase to post employment benefits, rather than new spending.
Capital costs
The councilman said the county does plan to shell out some money for new police vehicles to replace the department’s aging rides, but it will be on a smaller scale than the administration might like. He explained that because of the recession, the county hasn’t purchased new police vehicles in two years. KPD normally would get 14 per year. The county plans to buy eight next year, Bynum said.
“We can’t hold off forever buying new police vehicles,” Bynum said. “Some of them are 11 years old. They need to get replaced.”
Also on the horizon, the department plans to build a new temporary Waimea police sub-station at the Old Waimea Dispensary and to replace the Kapa‘a sub-station on Kuhio Highway with a facility on the grounds of Mahelona Hospital on Kawaihau. The projects are expected to be completed in the 2012 fiscal year.
“The current facility is substandard and was meant to be temporary,” Bynum said of the Kapa‘a sub-station in town.
During the presentation, police also touted achievements, including improvements in recruitment, accreditation, prioritized efforts in traffic enforcement and roadway safety, youth programs, decreased complaints and new beats.
In 2010, officers issued 20,282 citations and arrested 274 drunk drivers.
“Unfortunately, even with all of our efforts, there were still 10 traffic fatalities, but it could have been much worse without our presence on the roadways,” the budget presentation states.
Police said complaints against KPD employees are at an all-time low. For the past three years, complaints are down by more than 90 percent.
“That’s not to say that complaints are not being made, but on further investigation, it was discovered that the officer displayed proper judgment and acted in accordance to policies and procedures,” the document states.
A March 2011 Kaua‘i Community Indicators Telephone Survey indicates that KPD is making a difference in its community that hasn’t been seen in years, police said.
Questions included whether people feel safe walking in their neighborhoods at night and how satisfied they are with police public service.
In Central and North Kaua‘i, 84 percent of people said they felt safe and 83 percent were satisfied or very satisfied. In East Kaua‘i, 85 percent felt safe and 83 percent were satisfied or very satisfied. Seventy-two percent of people in South and West Kaua‘i felt safe and 82 percent were satisfied or very satisfied.
“It looks like we’re on the right track,” Bynum said of the department. “Public safety is one of the most important missions of county government. We all want to live in a safe community.”
Visit www.kauai.gov to view KPD’s budget presentation.
• Jessica Musicar, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or by e-mailing jmusicar@thegarden
island.com.
