The Honolulu City Council will consider a measure that requires the Honolulu Police Department to create a plan to better communicate with news outlets and the public.
In the bill, HPD would need to provide access to its dispatch radio communications to local media outlets. The department encrypted its scanners in 2022, denying access to the public and media.
The chief of police would also be required to submit an annual report to the City Council about the department's relations with the media.
This comes after HPD Chief Joe Logan issued an apology for not alerting the public to a March shooting in Waikīkī.
Concerns about police communications also arose after a 2024 New Year's Day islandwide police chase of an armed suspect that ended in a shootout near the University of Hawaiʻi.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi also announced this week that Logan would be retiring at the end of the month.
Blangiardi has requested that Hawaiʻi County Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz take over the role, although the decision is ultimately up to the Honolulu Police Commission.
When asked if the mayor wanted the next police chief to be more communicative with the media and public, a city spokesperson said yes.
City Council will vote on the measure for the first time Wednesday.
