EDITORIAL
Open communication crucial to police work

Recently appointed Honolulu Police Chief Boisse Correa this week outlined his top priorities in a conversation with reporters: fighting the ice epidemic and dealing with O'ahu's ongoing battle over property crime.

We could not agree more.

Correa also made sense when he said he would concentrate department resources on high-priority crime areas rather than attempting to do everything at once.

But what did not make sense to us was Correa's rather odd decision to conduct his first get-together with the news media in what he termed the "old school" way: He banned television cameras, tape recorders and photographers from the meeting.

As we said at the time Correa was chosen as chief, one of his key attributes was his comfort in dealing with the public and the press.

The days when the Honolulu Police Department could operate as a fortressed, walled-off semi-military operation that deals with the public only when perpetrators are brought to justice is long over.

The credibility of our excellent department depends on building public confidence. That confidence depends, in turn, on the ability of the department to explain itself and on the transparency of its operations.

Correa's idea that he need not be taped, filmed or otherwise recorded suggests he and his department might have something to hide. We don't buy that idea, but the more cynical might be driven to that conclusion.

In addition, the chief's approach sends the wrong message to those who work for him. Confidence in our police force depends on an open and constant two-way flow of communication between officers and the public.

Correa, who has shown great personal ability in the past as an affable and competent communicator, needs to get this message to his troops by word and by deed.