[ OUR OPINION ]

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Police, media
need not be
adversaries

THE ISSUE HPD's new chief raised concern when he banned TV cameras and tape recorders at his first news conference.

BOISSE Correa's discomfort in facing reporters at his first news conference since he was appointed police chief is understandable. Although he has braved the press corps as an assistant, he is well aware that as Honolulu's top law enforcement official his statements gain heightened significance.

That's why his refusal to allow television cameras and tape recorders at the news conference raised concern even though his spokeswoman later told the Star-Bulletin that the ban was a one-time-only edict. Correa surely recognizes that HPD depends on news organizations to communicate information important to the public.

The chief said that in his view recording devices and cameras interfere with police officials' ability to say what they want and he would prefer reporters return to the "old school" method of using only pen and paper.

"Usually when you bring in the cameras, we can't answer all the questions we really want," Correa said. As a result, reporters end up "dictating to HPD how to do the story" or "take different potshots at the chief." He explained that he had wanted the news conference to be a more informal affair, a kind of "talk story" session to outline changes he plans to make in police operations.

The situation appears to be a misunderstanding.

Correa was probably unaware that when a police chief -- particularly one only two months into the job -- calls in reporters to discuss his priorities, they sit up and listen. They expect there will be news and bring the necessary tools of their trade, high- and low-tech, with them.

Television is a medium that demands visuals, print reporters use tape recorders to supplement note-taking and cameras and sound devices ensure accuracy -- for both the chief and the media. Correa may prefer to have more control over what appears in broadcasts and newspapers, but independent reporting is essential to a free society.

Police and news organizations have long worked cooperatively to help keep communities safe and to alert the public about law enforcement concerns. Newspapers routinely publish sketches and descriptions of suspects and run photos of "most wanted" criminals; the practice often results in arrests.

Correa should be assured that the Star-Bulletin will take the time to listen to all of HPD's answers to questions and that it will treat him with fairness. We are as committed as he is to having a police department that is "as open as possible."

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Unhappy churchgoers
should shop around

THE ISSUE A judge has ruled the former members of a church have no legal standing to sue the church for financial malfeasance.

FORMER members of a Kalihi church who questioned its financial practices have been thrown out of court because of their excommunication from the church. The notion that accusations by a congregation member about the church's financial practices can be made to disappear by expulsion is troubling to say the least. The only recourse is to change churches.

State Circuit Judge Bert Ayabe issued the order on Oct. 15 dismissing a lawsuit brought by a group of Way of Salvation Church members alleging that church funds had been misspent or were unaccounted for. The suit maintained that nearly $500,000 in church funds had been paid to eight members of the Rev. Mariano Caneso's family during a recent three-year period. Caneso denied the accusations.

Citing legal precedents, Ayabe accepted the church's contention that the dissidents had no legal standing to pursue the lawsuit because they had been excommunicated. The ruling is even more disturbing because they were expelled from the church before they filed suit, which means the allegations pertained to money they had contributed to the church while being members.

"If members don't like the way a church is being run," Ayabe wrote, "they can go form their own church."

The ruling sends a clear signal to leaders of another church, the Kalihi-based Apostolic Faith Church, who refused earlier this year to open its books to reveal how it has spent thousands of dollars donated by members over the years. Members have asked why the church had no money to make basic repairs while purchasing a new Cadillac for the chief pastor, the Rev. William Han Sr.

Ayabe also rejected the state attorney general's conjunctive request that a receiver be appointed to oversee the church because of the lawsuit's dismissal. The judge left it up to the attorney general "to pursue any action it deems to be appropriate."

States have been cautious about intervening in church matters because of the separation of church and state. Attorney General Mark Bennett says he has a duty to ensure that nonprofit corporations, including churches, comply with the law. With church members unable to obtain accountability, action by the state may be justified.