HONOLULU — The Honolulu City Council has announced a plan to audit the city police department’s overtime costs after recent violations and a report that indicated substantial increases in overtime pay.
A recent Police Commission report found the department’s overtime costs almost doubled over a four-year period ending in 2019, Hawaii News Now reported Wednesday.
The police commission estimated that the department spent $38 million in overtime pay over the four-year time frame.
And late last year, 59 officers on the coronavirus enforcement team were flagged in an audit for overtime violations. At least 10 officers logged 200 or more hours of overtime over a five-week period. Records show that two officers recorded more than 300 hours of overtime over that same timeframe.
Officers are supposed to be limited to 20 hours of overtime per week.
An assistant chief at the police department said Tuesday that the department welcomes the audit.
“Because we always want to make sure we are doing the best we can, it’ll give us an opportunity not only to assess what we are currently doing, but also make the necessary changes to improve and better the way we serve our community,” said Rade Vanic, assistant chief at the Honolulu Police Department.
The report could take several months to finalize, Hawaii News Now reported.