News Release from Honolulu Police Commission, April 18, 2017

The Honolulu Police Commission has received a total of 30-35 applications for the position of Chief of Police of the Honolulu Police Department. The applicants are from both in-state and the mainland, with approximately 25-30% from the mainland. The final number of applications is subject to change as some applications are still under review.

The next step in the application process will be the written exam, which will be created by the Commission's consultant based upon the consultant’s expertise with the input of various law enforcement and community stakeholders.

Based upon the written exam, applicants who have qualified will be provided the opportunity to participate in an assessment center developed by the Commission’s consultant. The applicants 'performance will be scored by a small group of assessors selected by the Commission. The assessors will come from a diverse group of individuals who will receive training from the Commission's consultant prior to starting the assessment.

The Commissioners will select the finalists from the participants in the assessment center based upon a combination of scores from the written exam and assessment center. The finalists will be interviewed by the Commission and are subject to a background check and evaluation.

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HB1534: Will Legislators Allow Outsiders to Apply for HPD Chief?

KHON: The commission wanted to widen the pool of applicants by making changes to a law that restricted applicants to be residents of the state for a year immediately preceding being appointed.

The police commission views this as a problem, because it means anyone interested in applying from out of state isn’t eligible.

The police union did not feel that removing the restriction was necessary, citing that past chiefs, like Kealoha…moved up the ranks from within the department.  (And they want more of the same.)

A bill (HB1534) is currently heading to conference committee that would remove the restriction. Commission chairman Max Sword approached legislators with the concern. The house version of the bill just removed the text with the residency requirement. The senate version limited the scope of requirement by allowing out-of-state, current heads of county police department to apply.

read … Excluded?