Theft at HPD:
‘Very excellent
officers’ taken

Police departments in
Washington and Oregon have
lured away 'some of the
cream of Honolulu'

By Jaymes K. Song
Star-Bulletin

When former Honolulu police Detective Malcolm Chang roamed the Honolulu Police Department during his last visit, several officers threatened to lock him up for theft.

More specifically, for stealing Honolulu police officers.

"I hope they were just joking," said Chang, now a detective and a recruiter for the King County Sheriff's Office in Seattle. "They were very helpful. I'm just waiting for them to lock their doors."

A total of 25 officers have left HPD since last year's recruiting visits by several Pacific Northwest police departments. Five departments from Washington and Oregon came to Honolulu in September and lured the officers away with higher salaries and affordable living costs.

King County has hired eight of the officers, and the Portland Police Department hired 11 as a result of the recruiting trip.

"We got some of the cream of Honolulu," said Portland recruiting officer Mark White.

Of the 11 officers, one was a sergeant with more than 10 years of experience, White said, and all of the officers have college degrees.

Honolulu Maj. Glen Kajiyama, commander of the Human Resources Division, agreed. He said Portland "took very excellent officers."

"It's really a tough decision for them, because most are born and raised on the islands," White said. "It's tough to give it up. But the decisions are dictated by the needs of family."

Portland also has recruited in Idaho, Washington state and Texas, but the results have "been nothing like Hawaii," White said. From the three states, one officer was recruited.

King County and Portland expect to hire several more Honolulu officers in the coming months.

An officer's starting salary in Honolulu is about $33,000 , while at Portland it is $34,700. But in five years, a Portland police officer will earn $51,400, the same as a Honolulu lieutenant with 15 years of experience.

The difference is so enticing that Honolulu officers with several years of experience are willing to start over and go through police academy training again.

HPD officials said it is not their place to tell officers to stay, but they are asking officers to look at all the factors before leaving.

"You can't always look at bottom dollar," Kajiyama said.

He added that officers must consider the benefits, quality of life, family and friends and even outdoor activities like surfing that are in Honolulu.

"I would like to keep them. They are the most important resource we have," Kajiyama said. "But we understand what the concerns are. We can't question their rationale."

All officers who resign from HPD go through an "exit interview" where they can express some of their reasons for leaving.

"Most of them indicated to us, if the economy and the wages were better, they wouldn't leave," Kajiyama said. "They said the training was first-rate, and had nothing but praise for the department."

Chang said it was amusing to watch how the "real local boys" handled Seattle weather when the first group arrived in December. Some of the first lessons were driving in the snow.

"They did real good," Chang said. "They learned fast."

Chang said it was good that the new officers got to see what the worst weather conditions were like early on.

The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers and the counties have been negotiating a new contract since June 1998. The union declared an impasse after the parties were unable to reach an agreement.

The union expects to begin arbitration next month.

Sgt. Richard Wheeler, SHOPO's Oahu chapter chairman, believes many officers will determine whether to leave or stay after negotiations are finalized.

"There are a lot of people on the fence," he said. "They're deciding which side they want to hop off."

Mayor Jeremy Harris has said that the city wants to pay the officers more but has no funds and is dealing with a $130 million budget shortfall.

Portland's White, though, had this advice: "If I can impart anything on your people over there, I would say, pay your officers more."