honolulu police department

Police departments around the country are having trouble recruiting new officers and Hawaii’s largest police force is no exception. The Honolulu Police Department is currently short 260 officers, or about 10 percent of its total force.

Honolulu City Council Member Ron Menor says he does not think the City and County should be on the hook for attorney fees accrued in the court defense of former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha. Menor wants to mount a court challenge to prevent the spending of city funds.

Government and private business partners announced stepped up security efforts in Waikīkī - the state's major economic engine.

A New Year is upon us -- let's keep it happy and safe.

Today we turn our attention to pedestrian safety as we are coming off a year with an alarming number of fatalities. The cases tripled from the year before. Most of the cases have happened here on Oahu.

Do you have a story to share or an idea to help drivers and those hoofing it around? Is there a dangerous situation in your neighborhood or highway you want to flag or a solution that may merit exploring? Contact us at 808-792-8217 or talkback@hawaiipublicradio.org.

 It may brighten your day if you take a few minutes and check out the Lip Sync Challenge started earlier this summer. Some say its the kinder gentler side of law enforcement--but hey--that’s okay.

Community Check-in: Waikiki    

Police Commission; Lessons of Hurricane Season; Slow-Growth Recovery

Costs and Benefits of Recreational Marijuana, HPD Criminal Intelligence Unit

Stolen money, falsified police reports, planted evidence – what sounds like a plot for a police drama is playing out in real life in Hawai’i. Former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha, his wife, and a handful of HPD officers were released on bond after being indicted by a federal grand jury in a public corruption case. Allegations of corruption at the HPD following a case of a stolen mailbox led to a two-year federal investigation that uncovered much more. HPR’s Ku’uwehi Hiraishi reports.

  The police shootings in Baton Rouge and Minneapolis, and the officers shot and killed in Dallas, mean many communities are looking at their own community-police relations. That includes in Hawaii and we will too, next time on Town Square.

A Honolulu City Council committee is looking into taking additional steps to lower homelessness on O’ahu, which increased by 4 percent over last year.  HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports.