HILO — It was another stellar year for Police Chief Harry Kubojiri, according to his annual performance evaluation released Monday by the Hawaii County Police Commission.
Kubojiri was evaluated in three categories: enhancing open communication, managing staff and resources, and increasing professionalism within the department. The evaluation, signed May 24 by Kubojiri and commission Chairman Guy Schutte, doesn’t give a numerical grade, but includes the input of each of the six current commissioners. Three commission seats are vacant.
“He’s managing his staff and his resources well,” Schutte told West Hawaii Today. “As with everything, there’s always room for improvement.”
Overall, the six reviewing commissioners said Kubojiri’s doing an “excellent,” “exceptional,” “incredible,” “very good” or “good” job in their unsigned evaluations.
“In sum, the commission believes Chief Kubojiri has met his goals and has continued to increase the professionalism and morale of the Hawaii Police Department, which in turn enhances public confidence and perception thereof,” the report concludes.
Kubojiri, who took over as chief in December 2008 after almost 30 years in the department, makes $139,138 yearly. He manages a $65 million annual budget and 735 civilian and sworn positions.
“There’s a lot of stuff we can’t fix,” Kubojiri told the commission. “But we’re going to give our best crack at it and we’re going to work with the community.”
The commission regularly sees a parade of complainants at its meetings, with people complaining about officers being arrogant and rude, using unnecessary force, yelling at people reporting crimes, profiling and harassing certain residents and throwing suspects in the mud.
Previous evaluations for the police chief encouraged him to get in front of community opinion, as the public didn’t seem aware that complaints and disciplinary actions against police officers have actually dropped.
Last year, two police officers were fired and eight other officers were suspended for misconduct ranging from improperly filing reports to failing to report to duty to displaying “overbearing conduct.” That compares with three officers fired and 17 suspended in 2014.
“Chief Kubojiri has clearly made and maintained significant efforts to improve communication/transparency, both within the department and with the public,” a commissioner said in the evaluation.
Commissioners praised Kubojiri’s “aloha training” and accreditation initiatives, but some noted problems filling vacancies within the department, especially for police officers, radio dispatchers and school crossing guards.
One commissioner noted that the police chief, despite a busy schedule, still made it a point to recognize every staff member’s birthday.
“He is cognizant about the importance of maintaining high morale and proactively addresses staff concerns through staff input and collaboration,” the commissioner said in the evaluation.
The Police Commission had advice for Kubojiri, but, in an unusually contemplative mood at Friday’s monthly meeting, Kubojiri also had some advice for the commission.
He urged the commission to “expand beyond just receiving complaint about police officers,” to take a proactive approach to create a safer island.
“The whole issue is making safer, better communities,” Kubojiri said. “If we can’t do that, we failed.”