County of Hawaii 1996 - 1997 Annual Report: Hawaii County Police Department

Police Chief Wayne G. Carvalho began his career as a jail guard in October 1964 and moved through the ranks to be appointed Deputy Chief of Police in July 1983, a position he held until September 1989. From November 1989 to November 1994, he held various positions in private business, including Chief Operating Officer of Dillingham Partners. He was appointed Police Chief by the Hawaii County Police Commission on November 16, 1994. Chief Carvalho graduated cum laude with an Associate of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Hawaii at Hilo and has done graduate studies with the University of Virginia. Carvalho is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, and the University of Southern California Delinquency Control Institute. He is also a member of numerous professional and community organizations.

Deputy Police Chief James S. Correa became a police officer in 1975 following recruit training. He was promoted to Police Detective in 1980, Police lieutenant in 1986, and Police Captain in 1989. Prior to being named Deputy Police Chief in May 1995, he was acting Major in Technical Services Section. Deputy Chief Correa attended the University of Hawaii at Hilo with a major in business and economics and graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy. He is a member of several professional organizations and is a resource person for schools, community, and civic organizations. Deputy Chief Correa also lectures in the Administration of Justice program at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

The Hawaii Police Department, as of June 30, 1997, had 486 full-time positions with 353 sworn personnel and 133 civilian personnel. There were 37 part-time school crossing guards and 23 Police Officer I unfunded temporary positions.

The Police Commission consists of nine members. One member is appointed from each of the nine county districts. The members are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the County Council.

The functions of the Police Commission are to adopt rules as it may consider necessary for the conduct of its business and regulation of the matters committed to its charge and may review the rules and regulations of the department; review the department's annual budget prepared by the Police Chief and may make recommendations thereon to the Mayor; submit an annual report to the Mayor and the County Council; receive, consider and investigate charges brought by the public against the conduct of the department or any of its members and submit a written report of its findings to the Police Chief; advise the Police Chief on police-community relations; and hire personnel necessary to carry out its functions.

Police Commission members are Chairperson, Sharon Scheele, District II-South Hilo; Vice Chairperson, Francis Smith, District IV-South Hilo; Clarence Mills, District IX- North and South Kohala; Donald Abdul, District III-South Hilo; Deborah Baker, District VII-South Kona; Charles Sakamoto, District VI-Ka'u; Clarence Souza, District I-Hamakua; Clyde Williams, District VIII-North Kona; and Burnalyn Yee, District V-Puna.

Meetings of the Police Commission held islandwide during the FY 1996-97 included 12 regular and 12 executive sessions.

The Criminal Investigation, Juvenile Aid and Vice Sections fall under the auspices of the Investigative Operations Bureau. The Bureau is split between two regions, designated Areas I and II.

Area I encompasses the districts of North and South Hilo, Hamakua, Puna and Ka'u.

Area II covers the districts of North and South Kohala, and North and South Kona.

The Criminal Investigation Section collectively have sixteen Detective Sergeants and several support personnel assigned to Areas I and II.

The Vice Section is centrally located within the districts of South Hilo and Kona and servicing Areas I and II respectively. Six Detective Sergeants and ten PO-III positions are assigned to this section.

The Juvenile Aid Section with a complement of six Detective Sergeants and two PO-III positions are assigned to this section.

The Field Operations Bureau is also divided into the two regions, designated as Area I and II.

Field Operations, more commonly referred to as the Patrol Division, is comprised of 248 patrol officers and field supervisors. Seven captains are assigned to command districts of Area I and II along with support staff personnel.

The Field Operations Bureau also oversees the Community-Oriented Policing program.

The Hawaii Police Department continued its commitment to ridding our community of illicit drugs and to address other vice activities. Through its enforcement efforts, substantial seizures and arrests were made during the FY 1996-1997.

In 1996, police eradicated 139,336 marijuana plants including 41.7 pounds of processed marijuana, 4.96 pounds of cocaine, 3.87 ounces of crystal methamphetamine, 4.04 ounces of heroin and recovered 29 firearms.

Vice related arrests included 1,509 for various drug offenses, 44 for gambling, 26 for prostitution, and 222 for Cruelty to Animals.

Several real properties were seized in connection with narcotics-related investigations and gambling activities. Further, $33,606 in currency and approximately $30,000 in other tangible property were also confiscated.

There were 36 traffic fatalities on the Big Island in 1996. Alcohol related deaths included 18 persons (50%) and drug related deaths totaled 12 persons.

Traffic fatalities claimed 11 lives in Hilo, 10 in Kona, 6 in Puna, 3 in Hamakua, 2 in South Kohala, 2 in North Kohala, 1 in North Hilo, and 1 in Ka'u.

D.U.I. enforcement efforts netted 632 drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Of the total 4,961 accidents, 2,252 were major accidents involving death, injury, and/or property loss in excess of $1,000.00. Of the major traffic accidents, 1,504 accidents resulted in injuries or deaths on our highways. There were 3,457 nontraffic accidents or accidents that occurred on private property.

Saturdays, Sundays and Thursday were the deadliest days of the week for fatal traffic accidents. There were 6 deaths on Saturday, 6 on Thursday and 5 on Sunday.

The deadliest hours on our streets and highways were between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Fourteen new police officers joined the ranks of the Big Island's police force. Following 5 1/2 months of classroom instruction and 3 1/2 months of on-the-job training with a Field Training Officer, the Hawaii Police Department graduated its 53rd Police Recruit Class on March 27, 1997.

Providing recreational activities as a diversion for youths with emphasis on establishing fellowship, promoting sportsmanship and improving and nurturing moral and civic standards is the mission of the Hawaii Isle Police Activities League.

Over 2,500 children participated in HI-PAL's various programs. These programs included baseball, basketball, volleyball and tennis.

Special activities included basketball and baseball clinics, and the Easter Egg Hunt for emotionally and physically challenged children.

The objectives of the P.A.G.E. program and the commitment of the officers involved, to rid our community of gang involvement and related gang violence, remained unchanged. Over 1,700 junior high students participated in the program offered by the department's Juvenile Aid Section officers. The primary focus is to encourage positive alternative behavior for youths at risk and divert them from the hidden dangers associated with gangs.

Gangs are often controlled by adults that attempt to lure youths to become involved by masquerading the real-life consequences of choosing to affiliate oneself with gangs. P.A.G.E., through its classroom curriculum, draws attention and broadens awareness on how gang involvement destroys lives. Beyond the classroom, P.A.G.E. offers positive alternatives and encourages the youth in our community to make the right choices and through community service projects instills community pride.

Fiscal year 1996-1997 was a busy year for Hawaii Police Department's Community-Oriented Policing efforts. The crime prevention efforts concerning Neighborhood Watch, Emergency Notification Decal System Program, Home and Business Security Checks, Beautification Projects, and Training continued throughout the year.

The Neighborhood Watch program saw 29 new watches added bringing the total to 132 communities being involved throughout the Big Island. The E.N.D.S. program was expanded to include businesses in the North and South Kohala areas.

This past year, about 15 Home and Business Security Checks were conducted. Among the most notable were those completed for three hotels located on the Banyan Drive peninsula. Clean-Up projects such as that completed by a group of Lanakila Housing residents at the Happiness Park highlighted our beautification efforts over the past year. An all out effort to remove abandoned vehicles in various areas of the Big Island was also carried out successfully with the efforts of the Department of Public Works.

Community-Oriented Policing saw fit to involve our Senior Citizens this past year. Crime prevention presentations were carried out with various groups in Kona, North and South Kohala and Hilo.

Efforts were also made to deal with problems identified by the community. One such undertaking dealt with the initiation of a search warrant at Hookena Beach Park. Armed with information received from Community, Officer Stanley Haanio forged a partnership with the Criminal Investigation and Vice Section in Kona and was able to resolve the problems of harassment and terroristic threatening, which were occurring. As a result of the arrests of several individuals, other investigations were initiated having to do with firearms, drugs and other related crimes.

Training was another big area of Community-Oriented Policing during the past year. Subjects such as Problem-Solving, Community Policing Teams Training, and other seminars covering related topics provided to the community police officers, as well as community members.

Acquisition of equipment is in progress to launch a bicycle patrol. This will be ongoing over the next year and we hope to have community police officers cruising on their bicycles soon.

The future of Community-Oriented Policing on the Big Island will lie in knowing why certain things are being done rather than what is being done. The questions will deal with "effectiveness vs. efficiency." As Warren Bennis puts it, "Effectiveness is doing the right things. Efficiency is doing things right."

The Hawaii Police Department, in partnership with the Department of Education offers the most comprehensive program through the various D.A.R.E. curricula presented in public and private schools islandwide. Further, a parent component has been successfully implemented.

During school year 1996-97, over 5,000 elementary, junior and senior high students participated in the D.A.R.E. program. The mission of Officers Richard Bello, Richard Miyamoto, Daryl Picadura and Warren Shaw is to help children make the right choices and to live drug-free and productive lives. Nearly 45,000 students have been reached by D.A.R.E. over the past 11 years.

The achievement experienced by D.A.R.E. on the Big Island is attributed to a supportive administration, a committed partnership with the Department of Education, and a community that shares the same concerns for our young citizens. These are the elements that strengthen the program and thwart the attempts of critics to tarnish its efforts with negative, unsubstantiated claims.

In the words quoted by First Lady Hillary Clinton, "It takes an entire village to raise a child."

That's just what the Hawaii Police Department is attempting to do to further strengthen its commitment to educate children and parents with regards to the social ills of drugs and violence that continue to plague today's society.

Education remains our most effective weapon in combating drug abuse and violence and alleviating the grief and deterioration it poses on our society.

D.A.R.E. On the Air entered its fifth year of live weekly radio broadcasts. The Prime Time Kids T.V. series on public access television continued to highlight and focus on the many achievements of our young citizens.

The Hawaii Police Department hosted 65 elementary, junior and senior high students at the Team D.A.R.E. Summer Leadership Camp VII. The three-day summer program was the largest camp since its inception five years earlier.

The summer program, in its sixth year, offered workshops on peer mediation, conflict resolution and problem-solving, which augmented the recreational activities and community service projects. Campers were involved in a beautification project to refurbish the tiger exhibit at the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo.

The Big Island was host to the 7th Annual Hawaii D.A.R.E. Officers Association statewide conference at The Royal Waikoloan Resort in South Kohala. The conference, portraying the theme "D.A.R.E. Making A World Of Difference", was attended by over 110 educators, officers, representatives from the corporate community and supporters of the program.

At the conference, local D.O.E. Teacher Lois Wakida was recognized as the 1997 H.D.O.A. State Educator of the Year.

D.A.R.E. Officers Richard Bello and Warren Shaw ventured out-of-state to attend the 9th Annual National D.A.R.E. Officers Association conference held in the shadows of the St. Louis Arch in the Showme State of Missouri. Over 3,500 officers and educators attended the conference staged near the banks of the Mississippi River.

D.A.R.E. officers were able to answer one request for the National D.A.R.E. Parent Program. Eighteen parents attended the six-week seminar held in April and May at Keaau Elementary and Middle School.

"Our goal is to complete the expansion of D.A.R.E. in senior high and provide the various curricula in all elementary and junior high schools as well," explains Officer Shaw, the Police Department's D.A.R.E. Coordinator. "Although consideration must be given to the variables, when all components are being offered, only then can we attempt to

measure the program's effectiveness. One simply cannot rely on a program that enters the life of a 10 year-old for a semester and expect the information to settle in and last for a lifetime. Unfortunately, 17 weeks of D.A.R.E. may not be the inoculation to defend our children against these social ills."

Studies have shown that reinforcement is critical and leads to achieving our promise of teaching kids to never use drugs and resist violence.

The Hawaii Police Department's Community Relations Section hosted over 1,800 elementary, intermediate, high school and college students by providing guided tours of the Public Safety complex and district police station's islandwide.

Nearly 250 public speaking requests were answered, reaching over 22,000 persons. These requests involved demonstrations and lectures on a multitude of topics ranging from McGruff, KidCare ID, preventing child abduction, career shadowing, temporary restraining orders, trespass laws, crimes against seniors, sexual assault, traffic safety and regulations, home security, personal protection, bomb awareness, Halloween precautions, robbery, theft and shoplifting prevention.

Prevention is one way of battling crime. Crime prevention takes the opportunity away from the criminal to commit the crime. Be actively involved in a Neighborhood Watch Program, secure your home, business and automobile, report suspicious activities, seek information and enroll in classes or attend community meetings that will broaden your awareness of techniques and strategies to protect you and your property.

CrimeStoppers concluded another successful year. Valuable information received through the program resulted in the apprehension of escapees; wanted persons; individuals involved in drug trafficking, thefts, burglaries, gambling, cruelty to animal cases; and the recovery of stolen vehicles. A CrimeStoppers tipster provided key statements, identification of the suspect and valuable information to secure a search warrant for the murder of Gorden Granger, which ultimately ended with the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

Since its inception in May 1991, Big Island CrimeStoppers has been instrumental in solving 1232 criminal cases, the recovery of $828,011.21 in stolen property and the seizure of over $11.9 million worth of narcotics. CrimeStoppers does not subscribe to "Caller ID", nor are the calls recorded.

Combating crime is everyone's business. Members of the community working together with the Hawaii Police Department will result in a safer and better Big Island.