Correa, 59, a 35-year veteran officer, was among 19 candidates for the Honolulu Police Department's top job, which pays $110,000 per year. His command includes more than 2,000 uniformed personnel and an annual operating budget of roughly $170 million.

He has already implemented some new initiatives and has officers once again walking the beat in Waikiki and Chinatown to help solidify community relations.

But the first 10 months have wrought serious challenges for the city's ninth chief.

The FBI has opened at least two investigations on his watch, looking into allegations that officers set up and helped protect illegal cockfights, and another focusing on a suspected ring of crystal methamphetamine dealers.

Since December, two officers have been arrested for methamphetamine offenses, one for allegedly attempting to rob a drug dealer, the other for allegedly selling ice to a federal informant. While federal authorities say they do not believe the two officers were working together, they are pursuing leads that suggest one of them had help from others inside HPD.

HPD chief Boisse Correa has been criticized for keeping a low profile, but says he only wants to give credit to officers in the field. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Then there's the matter of a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 1,200 police officers who are seeking compensation for alleged violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

A rift is forming between HPD and the State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers over that litigation.

According to SHOPO, the lawsuit alleges that the city improperly calculated overtime, employees were not compensated for all work associated with the job and that the city's comp-time policies violate the FLSA.

The lawsuit alleges that the city and county of Honolulu didn't pay police for time they spent on activities such as work-related travel, command briefings before and after their shifts, missed meal breaks, or for cleaning and maintaining vehicles. SHOPO O'ahu Chapter chairman Alex Garcia said a settlement could exceed $50 million, dwarfing the $1.8 million and $1.2 million settlements already paid out by Hawai'i and Maui counties, respectively.

After a payout, HPD would have to close the liability loophole by changing work schedules and implementing strict time-management practices, measures that will force officers to alter their routines and work habits.

Couple these pressures with the celebritylike demands of holding a high-profile job in Honolulu and the transition from assistant chief to top cop has been difficult for Correa.

"Being in a major city, it's stressful. You go home with a lot on your shoulders," he told The Advertiser. "There has never been a night I haven't gotten three or four calls. It's been humbling and challenging, but that's part of the turf. You gotta care about your community. If you don't have that passion of caring you're not doing your job."

By most accounts, Correa is working well with other law-enforcement agencies and effectively communicating his plans to the community.

Yet some question why he keeps a low profile, choosing to delegate public appearances to officers closer to the action.

City Council public safety committee chairman Gary Okino says that being the face of the department in the community is the chief's responsibility.

"I think that's part of his job to be in front of the department, either promoting or protecting the department," he said. "He has been very quiet. You don't hear anything about him."

Correa contends he's not a political animal, and that his only desire is to protect citizens and give credit to the officers who do the day-to-day work. In time, the public will get to know him, he said, but it's his opinion that it's more important to recognize the contributions of front-line officers and their commanders by allowing them to speak for themselves.

He said he has no intentions of ever seeking political office.

"That's not this chief," Correa said. "If you don't praise your people and put them out there (in front of the public) then they won't do the work."

Many of Correa's peers in law enforcement and city government say it's much too early to assess what he has done as chief, but concede that what they've seen so far has been encouraging.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said that anytime he has asked Correa for something, the chief has come through.

He said their communication is good and that the chief has kept him abreast of the FBI investigations. He lauded Correa's efforts to put foot patrols back in Chinatown and Waikiki. He also praised the chief's efforts to try to improve the department's technology and DNA analysis lab.

"He's very cooperative; we haven't had a problem," the mayor said.

City Prosecutor Peter Carlise said that Correa has worked to expedite charging practices, especially with car thefts and offenses committed by career criminals.

"We have a great working relationship," he said.

Ron Taketa, chairman of the Honolulu Police Commission, said he believes Correa has done an outstanding job in his early months in office.

Taketa, who has overseen the selection of three police chiefs, said every administration evolves slowly as it shakes off the hangover of the previous administration while laying the foundation for new initiatives.

"I think he has been doing a great job. He has good initiatives that will bring the department closer to the public," Taketa said. "He is doing what he needs to do to share ideas with his commanders."

Drugs, property crimes

Correa said he sees the state's drug problem worsening, and he's working to create strategies that will halt the spread of crystal methamphetamine. In addition to the "ice" scourge, Correa said marijuana is making a comeback in the islands.

"The drugs, the quantity has not gone down," said Correa. "We're making arrests (and seizing drugs) in the pounds, not ounces anymore, and that concerns us."

For the past decade, Hawai'i has been battling crystal methamphetamine use and the question of what to do about the problem has dogged lawmakers and law-enforcement officials.

In addition to making more arrests, police and federal law-enforcement agents last year uncovered more than 30 clandestine methamphetamine labs, a sixfold increase over the previous year. Deaths from crystal meth last year hit 67, surpassing the previous record of 62, according to the city medical examiner's office.

In 2004, Honolulu Police Department narcotics vice officers and HPD patrol officers made 708 crystal meth arrests, up from 578 in 2003. HPD seized 140 pounds of ice last year.

Also, marijuana arrests jumped slightly from 78 in 2003 to 121 last year. Police made 214 cocaine arrests, compared with 168 in 2003.

Correa would like to see increased emphasis put on treatment and education, but firmly believes enforcement is the catalyst. To that end, Correa said he is de-centralizing HPD's narcotics enforcement operations to allow commanders in each patrol district greater freedom to decide how drug enforcement resources are used in their area.

He said in certain areas, police are targeting high-level dealers rather than repetitively busting small-time street operatives.

The state's drug problem is linked to property crime, the most pervasive offense committed by local criminals, Correa said. Thefts, car break-ins, and burglaries are fueled by addicts' desire to get high. Addicts will steal money or things of value in order to buy or trade for drugs.

"The investigation does not stop at the time of arrest, it starts at the time of arrest," he said.

Correa has established property crime task forces in each patrol district to deal specifically with the type of offenses identified by the district commander as being most problematic. Correa has also asked the district to target their top career criminals and work with city prosecutors to take them down one by one.

In the future, he said, the task forces will be fed information from community response teams that the department is working to create in each district. The response teams will take a grass-roots approach to specific problems in communities by immersing themselves in the neighborhood and displaying a willingness to help resolve conflicts and look into complaints. The teams will also work exclusively with neighborhood boards.

Over time, Correa hopes the teams will evolve into intelligence gathering entities that help district commanders formulate policing practices.