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Hawaii Police Patches

The Hawai'i County Police Department provides law enforcement for the island of Hawai'i (Big Island). Hawai'i County Police must protect (as of 2008) 4,028.02 square miles of varied terrain and the lives of a 2006 Census-estimated 171,191 residents and visitors on the Big Island.^[1]

Operation Bureaus

The current chief of police is Harry S. Kubojiri.^[2] Hawai'i County Police has separated their operations into two Areas of the island East and West.

Area I is the East side of Hawai'i it includes investigative and patrol operations. Its districts include Hamakua, North Hilo, South Hilo, and Puna. A total of 1,685 square miles (4,360 km²) of land.

Area II is the West side of Hawai'i it includes investigative and patrol oprations. Its districts include North Kohala, South Kohala, Kona, and Ka'a. A total of 2,345 square miles (6,070 km²) of land.

Each district in Hawai'i County Police Department is headed by a police captain. Each Area I & Area II is run by Commanders.

Professional Statements

Mission Statement

The employees of the Hawaii Police Department are committed to preserving the Spirit of Aloha. We will work cooperatively with the community to enforce the laws, preserve peace, and provide a safe environment.^[3]

Vision Statement

The Hawaii Police Department is committed to providing the highest quality of police service and forming partnerships with the community to achieve public satisfaction making the Big Island a safe place to live, visit, and conduct business.

Core Values

• Integrity
• Professionalism
• Compassion
• Teamwork
• Community Satisfaction

Subsidized Honolulu Police car

Police Car Issue

As with the Honolulu Police, Hawaii County Police has a fleet of marked police cars and subsidized police cars which means they allow officers to use their personally owned vehicles as police cars.^[4] These include not only American cars but Japanese cars such as the Toyota 4Runner and Camry, Honda Pilot, Nissan Altima, Xterra and Murano. These cars are made distinguishable as on duty police vehicles with the addition of a removable blue light bar. This has been always an issue for Hawaii County Police because many people including officers want marked police cars. But the issue has been the cost to make their fleet to fully marked. But the program has a positive side because it saves the department money and it helps recruitment. Both Kauai & Maui County police has since stop using the subsidized program and their fleets are fully marked.

Hawaii Badge

Recruitment

Like most police departments they need new police recruits. Hawaii County Police is one of those police departments^[5].

To qualify the applicant must have the following:

• Be at least 21 years old.
• Be a U.S. citizen (either born or naturalized), American national or permanent resident alien.
• Have a valid driver's license from Hawaii or comparable license from another state.
• Have a combination of education and experience substantially equivalent to graduation from high school.
• Be qualified to carry and possess any firearm or ammunition in accordance with state and federal laws. Persons convicted of domestic violence, whether convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, will not be considered for a position because federal law prohibits them from carrying firearms.

As public servants, the salaries of the sworn officers are public information. The starting salary for Police Officer I is $3,585 a month, or $43,020 a year. After 18 months, the salary will increase to $3,727 a month, or $44,724 per year. Officers also receive night differential pay and time and a half for holiday work and overtime.

See also

• Honolulu Police Department
• Hawaii Department of Public Safety
• List of law enforcement agencies in Hawaii

References

Resources

• Hawaii Police homepage