HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – David Lazar will be sworn in Thursday as Honolulu’s new police chief, inheriting an officer shortage that has grown steadily for years and now sits near record levels.
The Honolulu Police Department is currently down more than 20% of its uniformed officers. Vacancy numbers show the problem has worsened over time, rising from just under 300 in 2020 to roughly 470 at the start of this year.
Union calls staffing crisis the top challenge
Don Faumuina, president of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO), said the shortage will be Lazar’s most pressing issue from day one.
“The staffing crisis is the largest and most difficult challenge that Chief Lazar will face,” Faumuina said. “There’s departments around the country that face similar challenges. The departments that are making progress are those that are actually acknowledging it, that it is a problem, and then they attack it head on.”
Recruits can’t keep pace with retirements
HPD currently has five academy classes underway with 155 recruits. Not all make it through and there are 312 officers already eligible to retire, having reached 25 years of service…