White may get his wish.

The Honolulu Police Department is making strides in alleviating years of staffing shortages, filling vacant positions by hiring larger recruit classes and graduating more new officers.

As of June 30, HPD had 2,062 sworn positions. Included are 264 vacancies and 190 officers undergoing intensive training. That gives the police a net vacancy of 74 positions, one of the lowest totals in years, said Maj. Dave Kajihiro of the department's Human Resource Division. By comparison, in August 2003 there were 122 net vacancies.

"It has been a struggle for the last four to five years," Kajihiro said. "But now we are getting really close to where we want to be."

Residents and community leaders say the mere presence of more officers will go a long way toward deterring crime.

White, who lives downtown, said more officers are needed in the area bordered by Bishop and River streets and Beretania and Nimitz streets.

He said strong relationships among officers, merchants and residents would "stem the illicit activity down here." Crime "has gotten better, but it moves from one street to the next every time we shine focus on it."

He's not alone in calling for a greater police presence.

Lynne Matusow, chairwoman of the Downtown Neighborhood Board, said she wants to see more officers deployed wherever there are drug dealers. She said she likes to see new recruits assigned to her area as soon as they leave the academy.

"We complain about a problem — it gets taken care of," she said. "We've had really good results with (HPD District 1) and Maj. (Michael) Tucker."

In Palolo, residents are concerned about thefts in the area bordering Wai'alae Avenue. Darlene Nakayama, chairwoman of the Palolo Neighborhood Board, said she wants to see more police visibility to deter crime.

"We can always use officers to help with speeding and (illegal) dumping," she noted.

Robert Finley, chairman of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, said he wants to see more patrol officers on Lewers Street between 2 and 4 a.m.

"Definitely, any place that they can build up the force in Waikiki, that would be great," he said.

Chronic complaint

Police officers are frequently seen on Hotel Street — usually moving to and from their cars parked near the Chinatown substation, which has long suffered a shortage of sworn officers.

HPD calculates vacancies by subtracting the total number of officers in their 18-month probationary period from the number of vacant positions. The net vacancy is subject to change, because not all recruits make it out of the academy. Officers on probation are either in training there or recent graduates. They are paid using money allotted for the vacant positions, or about $3,011 a month.

Once cadets and rookies pass probation and become sworn officers, their pay increases to $3,251 a month.

Detective Alex Garcia, O'ahu chapter chairman of the State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers union, said the patrol division has the greatest need. About 90 percent of academy graduates go straight to patrol for their probationary period, he said. Afterward, a minority are pulled into specialized units.

9/11 pressures

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, special-duty assignments have increased, as have military call-ups, taxing the patrol ranks even more, Garcia said.

"We have to do emergency management, there is more of a need for intelligence work, and we're working with (federal agencies) more. And they are drawing guys out from patrol."

After March 2003, the war in Iraq became another drain on staff when 20 officers were called to active duty. The department has 192 military reservists — recruits or officers — of whom 21 are now on active duty.

Former Chief Lee Donohue, in one of his last public speeches in June, said the departmentm"suffered with staffing" during his six-year tenure. He said HPD lost more than 100 officers to police departments in the Pacific Northwest in the past five years. Only 12 of them have returned to the islands.

"Employees are our most important asset," he said. "It is our family."

Police officials have long complained that comparatively low pay makes it difficult to recruit and retain qualified officers. The police department in San Francisco, for example, with 2,627 employees to HPD's 2,628, pays a police recruit $56,559 — as much as a captain earns at HPD — compared with $36,132 a year for an HPD recruit.

Gaining ground

Kajihiro, of the department's Human Resource Division, said the department has been able to gain some ground on staffing shortages by hiring larger recruit classes.

The past three academies drew 190 recruits and graduated 108 officers. The two previous classes had 92 recruits and 39 graduates.

"As you can see, the last year or so the numbers are high, with 60-something (recruits per class)," Kajihiro said. "We're trying to play catch-up."

While attending the academy, many recruits discover that police work is not for them, or they lose interest and drop out, Kajihiro said. Others are simpy not qualified to complete the course. In the first six months after a recruit class is hired, he said, about 30 percent quit. Most make it to graduation after that.

The department uses various methods to attract recruits, including a full-time officer assigned to recruiting.

Kajihiro said HPD's most effective recruiting tool is Sunday newspaper advertising. Each year the department spends $50,000 on recruiting, most of it on advertising. In addition to newspapers, HPD advertises in local trade publications and other magazines.

At some University of Hawai'i sporting events, HPD recruiters roam the crowd and set up informational stands. HPD also tries to recruit at local career and job fairs. Potential recruits can get job information and download applications from the department's Web site.

Local recruiters have flown to Portland, Ore., to recruit officers.

Kajihiro said that when sworn-officer staffing gets on track, HPD will address its civilian staffing. Of 566 authorized positions, he said he has 86 vacancies. The department needs employees in information technology, forensic technicians and radio operators.