HONOLULU — The Honolulu Police Department recently ended its one-year contract with a public relations firm with a new departmentwide communications plan that seeks to address the agency’s public perception problems.
HPD entered into the contract with The Bennet Group in March 2016 in the wake of news reports about a federal investigation into then-police Chief Louis Kealoha involving allegations of civil rights abuses and corruption. President and CEO Joan Bennet confirmed her company was paid about $106,000 for its work, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports (http://bit.ly/2nfvXE9).
The group provided training classes to top HPD officials and created a communications plan, which suggested the department improve its reputation by educating the public on its efforts in the community and by addressing misperceptions relating to domestic violence policies, personnel matters and other issues.
The report noted that the department had “suffered reputational damage as the public perception of ethical and behavioral concerns have been brought to the fore.” It also said the issues have led to “waning morale” among officers “as they continue to see negative portrayals of their profession in the public sphere.”
The action plan also calls for more media-related professional development and training for HPD’s communications personnel and recommends developing an approach to issues management and crisis communications.
Capt. Rade Vadic said HPD benefited from the firm’s insight and training.
“It is always useful to receive external feedback from professionals,” Vadic said.
Bennet conducted about a dozen training sessions for roughly 80 senior staff members and chiefs, community policing officers and department spokesmen.
Loretta Sheehan, who joined the Honolulu Police Commission last summer, said she is unsure whether the department maximized its use of the public relations firm under the contract, which ended March 20 without getting renewed.
“I have seen no evidence of a more communicative and more accountable HPD,” Sheehan said. “What I’ve encountered thus far is far more a culture of secrecy.”
Former police Chief Kealoha received a $250,000 severance payment for agreeing to retire earlier this year. He went on paid leave after receiving a letter from the FBI in December indicating he was the target of an investigation.
The investigation into Kealoha began after allegations surfaced that he and his deputy city prosecutor wife, Katherine Kealoha, framed her uncle for the theft of the Kealoha’s home mailbox to discredit him in a family financial dispute. Attorneys for the couple say they haven’t done anything wrong.
A retired officer involved in the mailbox case has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and four other officers have received target letters from the FBI.