A new report recommends housing stipends, better medical benefits and other efforts to help recruit and retain Honolulu Police Department officers and civilian employees.
A city task force created by the Honolulu City Council published the report this week. The group includes leadership from the council, the mayor's office, and the State of Hawaiʻi Organization of Police Officers.
Task force chair and Councilmember Andria Tupola said in a statement that the report “outlines a clear plan to increase and maintain HPD’s workforce.”
The report details what’s been known for years — that there are hundreds of vacancies at HPD.
There are 450 officer vacancies, according to the report — a number that has steadily increased every year since 2021.
About 850 uniformed staff left HPD between 2020 and 2024, and about 60% of them were voluntary. Of those 60%, nearly half were retirements — the most common reason.
Over the last three years, civilian positions at HPD have dropped slightly from 206 to 190. About 30% of the current staff is eligible for retirement, adding to concerns about HPD’s long-term workforce.
Nearly 40% of the 245 civilian employees who left HPD during the same time also retired. But even more — 47% — left voluntarily, which the report said was “driven largely by external wage competition and opportunities in both the private sector and other government agencies.”
To fill HPD’s chronic vacancies and keep employees from leaving, the task force made a list of recommendations for the city to consider.
Among the most costly, one recommendation would involve the creation of a recruitment and retention special fund, which the report said would be funded using lapsed salary savings from vacancies. The fund would use $15 million to $30 million annually for efforts to improve staffing.
The task force also recommended a $500 monthly housing stipend to both uniformed and civilian positions, which would cost nearly $13 million a year.
“Honolulu’s high housing costs are the most frequently cited cause of recruitment failures and voluntary departures,” the report said.
Another suggestion was to have the city spend $7.7 million per year to increase the City and County of Honolulu’s share of employee medical premiums, which would increase the take-home pay of HPD staff.
Some of the other recommendations included a $200 monthly parking stipend for civilian employees, retention and recruitment bonuses, and quicker pay raise schedules.
