High vacancy rates worry Hawai'i's police chiefs

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i is short more than 300 police officers and the state's four county police chiefs said yesterday that without higher salaries and added benefits and bonuses, the inability to fill vacancies will only get worse.

Hawai'i County Police Chief James Correa said all Island departments are competing with each other. Advertiser library photo • Jan. 6, 2002

Police chiefs on the Big Island, Maui and Kaua'i said they are short 47 officers out of 891 authorized positions.

Statewide, there are 30 vacancies for radio dispatchers although 16 are in training for the Honolulu Police Department.

The statistics are the first comprehensive look at the statewide shortage of police officers and dispatchers.

"If we don't address it here and make it public, it's going to get worse in the future," Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue said. "It's affecting us all. It's not just an issue here in Hawai'i, it's a national issue."

The main recruiting-and-retention drawback for officers and dispatchers is salary, which is as much as $19,970 less than comparable-sized departments, the chiefs said.

The starting salary for police officers in the state is $31,812. The starting salary for dispatchers is $25,380. By contrast, the starting salary at the San Francisco Police Department is $51,782 for officers and $44,902 for dispatchers.

To make policing more attractive, Donohue said the county departments have offered compressed work schedules, specialized training and promotion opportunities, and work in cutting-edge technology. Under the new civil service reform laws, police also are trying to get bonuses for employees who reach education, physical fitness and foreign languages standards. Police are also seeking retirement after 25 years of service for radio dispatchers, and such things as tuition benefits for higher education, Donohue said.

Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue said counties are trying to make policing attractive. Advertiser library photo • April 23, 2002

He said the shortage of police officers has limited HPD's preventive programs and has increased overtime payments to cover shortages, but has not jeopardized public safety.

Since 1998, the four county police departments have lost 112 officers and eight radio dispatchers to the Mainland, Donohue said. In the last three months, six HPD officers have left for Federal Way, Wash., a 110-position department that offers a starting salary of $41,244.

Hawai'i County Police Chief James Correa said his department is competing not only with the three other counties, but also with other law enforcement agencies such as the air marshal service. He noted that local officers migrate between the major Island departments as well.

"It's no big secret that guys apply for Maui, Kaua'i, the Honolulu Police Department and our police department," Correa said. "We try to move aggressively."

Maui County Police Chief Thomas Phillips said recruiting is a national problem and that's why Mainland agencies recruit Hawai'i officers.

Kaua'i Police Chief George Freitas said recruitment requires an investment. Advertiser library photo • March 15, 1996

Phillips said about a year ago, local police thought they were catching up with recruitment, but changes in homeland security and the hiring of hundreds of FBI agents depleted the recruiting pool for county departments.

"For our department, the last three years, we've struggled probably through our most severe shortages," Phillips said. "We've had to not fill our positions just so that we can man the beats. Each of us foresee that getting worse, we don't see it getting better."

Kaua'i Police Chief George Freitas said his department hasn't had any problems getting quality people, but has had problems getting enough of them.

"Our problem is getting enough quantity of that quality and hanging on to them," Freitas said. "Nationwide, for every 50 to 25 applicants, you should be picking up one."

Freitas said he and other county chiefs resist the temptation of lowering recruiting standards so they can fill their departments.

Freitas said the difficult task is convincing the public and government that recruiting and retaining officers and dispatchers is an investment that can save taxpayer money in the long run.

According to police figures, the cost of screening and training one police officer for the first year is $78,481 in Honolulu; $92,097 on the Big Island; $96,106 on Maui; and $70,000 on Kaua'i. The cost for one radio dispatcher is $51,549 in Honolulu; $21,466 on the Big Island; and $31,020 on Maui. Kaua'i figures were unavailable.

Donohue said the projected cost to hire Honolulu police officers for the next five years would be $58 million based on the annual attrition of 148 officers and the cost of screening and training. He said the projected cost for hiring dispatchers would be $5 million for the next five years based on the annual attrition of 20 dispatchers.