Honolulu Police Chief Boisse Correa yesterday responded to the officers union's decision to survey its members about morale and his leadership, saying that he respects the union but does not "expect all its members to agree with all of the decisions that the department makes."

Correa declined through a spokesperson to answer questions about the survey or his relationship with the O'ahu chapter of the State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers.

"Our department relies on feedback from all segments of the community, including SHOPO, to improve our services. I have personally met with and will continue to meet with union representatives. In addition, we will continue to have an assistant chief serve as the department's liaison to the union and communicate with the union daily," Correa said in a written statement.

"I respect SHOPO, and I do not expect all its members to agree with all of the decisions that the department makes. As chief, it is my responsibility to work with our employees to provide our community with the highest level of police service possible," the statement said.

Correa's comments came four days after SHOPO's O'ahu board sent out a two-page survey asking officers how they feel about the chief as well as overall morale and working conditions at the department.

SHOPO's O'ahu chapter board voted unanimously Oct. 28 to commission the survey after discussing "concerns regarding the leadership, working conditions and morale of officers of the Honolulu Police Department," according to a letter sent Thursday with the survey to the union's 2,000-plus O'ahu members.

The union and Correa's administration have clashed over several issues, including the handling of an ever-shrinking budget and what the union deems an unfair system for disciplining officers.

William J. Puette, CLEAR director, declined to comment yesterday, citing a need to preserve the integrity of the survey.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.