Boisse Correa

Chief still favors
brains over brawn

Honolulu Police Chief Boisse Correa's motto for himself and his department is to work "harder, faster and smarter."

It's a motto he has been trying to make a reality since he was appointed by the Police Commission in August, and that he says he will continue to uphold in 2005. Although he acknowledges that not everyone agrees with his ideas, he said he hopes to eventually "improve how the department operates and serves the community."

"I'm an administrator, not a politician," he said. "We've got to do things differently, because the old ways aren't cutting it anymore."

One of his ideas includes having Honolulu police officers take on duties on top of their main assignments. Examples include solo bike officers responding to non-traffic emergencies, juvenile crime investigators handling traffic enforcement, and members of the Specialized Services Division patrolling parks.

"We're not talking about going down to the park in their riot gear," Correa said. "We're talking about them putting on their uniforms and being cordial and telling people, 'Excuse me, but you can't be drinking here.'

"The reason for this is we need to do more with our resources. ... You can't have a unit just specializing in one area. You need units which are multi-tasked, because we don't have enough officers."

Correa's philosophy has led to a different tactic toward investigating crimes, concentrating on certain offenses in certain areas. East Honolulu police said that by being able to concentrate on property crimes in their district, they were eventually able to uncover an islandwide burglary ring last month.

Not all of Correa's ideas have been well-received, however, as was evident when he called for a meeting with reporters last October but asked that no recording devices -- such as video cameras and tape recorders -- be present.

After a small uproar by some media organizations, Correa has apologized and said he only wanted to present his ideas for the department in a more relaxed setting.

Ever since, Correa has been a bit more careful about how the department presents information to the public, although the chief still grants impromptu interviews to reporters in the hallways of HPD headquarters.

"When I was assistant chief, I could speak more freely," he said. "Now, what I say, it's like gospel.

"There's no one above me to say yea or nay."