Dear Mayor, Honolulu City Council and fellow citizens:

I am writing in response to recent comments from a Honolulu City Council member who blamed the chief of police for the failure to recruit police officers, as if the hiring process is the same for McDonald’s.

First, let me clarify — this failure does not fall solely on the shoulders of the chief of police. The chief’s job is to fight crime, but to do so, he needs the manpower to support those efforts. The responsibility for ensuring there are enough officers to serve our community rests squarely with our elected officials and the Legislature.

It has become all too common and the standard go-to answer of our elected leaders when confronted with questions about crime to state it’s the Honolulu Police Department’s problem. But when we asked HPD the same question about crime HPD says: “We’re doing the best we can with the officers we have.”

As a citizen who’s tired of hearing this same refrain, I’d like to offer some real solutions to this growing problem.

Aggressively Recruit Military Veterans

We are incredibly fortunate to have several military bases on our shores, populated by well-trained men and women who could make excellent first responders. These veterans have the skills, discipline, and experience necessary to transition into law enforcement roles.

The key, however, is to provide the incentives that would encourage them to stay in Hawaiʻi and become part of our police force.

To do this, we must change the way the government and our citizens view police recruitment. One approach is to make our police officer bonuses more competitive with those of neighboring West Coast cities, which have successfully recruited HPD officers we’ve already trained and paid for. We cannot afford to continue losing these officers to other states.

Address The Housing Crisis For Veterans

Housing is one of the biggest concerns for military members transitioning to civilian life. When I left the military, I spent two years basically homeless, working as a security guard, and I almost returned to the military before being hired by a West Coast police department. This housing issue is something we must address head on.

One solution is to negotiate with the military to utilize unused base housing for police officer recruits, specifically targeting military personnel who have expressed interest in joining the police academy.
This agreement would be limited to candidates who have been approved for an academy class and given a starting date. This would make it a manageable number of recruits to avoid overwhelming the system.

Offer Housing Support Post-Graduation

Once police officers graduate from the academy, they face the challenge of securing permanent housing. We should work with landlords and homeowners renting their homes to subsidize their rent for up to five years — just like we do for low-income individuals — giving them a chance to save for a down payment on a home of their own.

Additionally, we should expand programs like “Hero Next Door” or “Officer Next Door,” offering police officers incentives like no down payment or no private mortgage insurance when purchasing their first home.

To further incentivize long-term commitment, we could put down the down payment and implement a forgiveness clause for officers who stay with the force for 20 years, allowing them to access additional financial benefits or homeownership perks. If an officer leaves the department or sells their property before completing 20 years, the city would recover these funds.

Fair And Transparent Recruitment Process

Finally, one of the most critical reforms we can make is ensuring fairness in the recruitment process. Currently, disqualified candidates often have little recourse to challenge the decision.

I’ve witnessed first-hand how subjective and sometimes unprofessional recruitment methods can be. To resolve this, we need a review board consisting of both police officers and civilians to evaluate disqualified candidates. This board should ensure that any decision to disqualify a candidate is made fairly and that the reasons behind such decisions are transparent.

Candidates should have a fair opportunity to present their qualifications, and recruitment officers should be held accountable for their decisions. By establishing a clear and unbiased review process, we can ensure that our police department is made up of the most qualified individuals, without prejudice or unprofessional conduct.

It’s time to stop the blame game and start implementing real solutions to address Honolulu’s police recruitment crisis. By offering competitive bonuses, addressing housing concerns, supporting long-term financial stability, and ensuring a fair recruitment process, we can build a police force that serves our community with excellence. The citizens of Honolulu deserve no less.

I urge our elected officials to take immediate action. Let’s support our chief of police, not with finger-pointing and empty promises, but with the tools and resources he needs to protect us.