HPD chief outlines hiring push, strategic plan and new tech priorities

Chief David Lazar, who said he is in his 12th week as chief of the Honolulu Police Department, briefed the Council’s Committee on Public Safety and Economy on Sept. 24 about priorities including recruitment, retention and modernization.

"My name is David Lazar. I'm the chief of police of the Honolulu Police Department," Lazar said as he outlined a people-first leadership approach and the department’s near-term goals. He credited recent academy classes — "we were able to get 66 recruits into the police academy" — and said the department graduated 37 recruits recently, but added the force remains short. "The gap is really 275. That's 275 away from 2,177 full strength officers in our city and in our department," he said.

Lazar said retention efforts will focus on leadership, wellness and compensation, while modernization plans include crisis intervention training, a "real time investigation center" that could deploy drones as first responders, and expanded use of license-plate readers to aid recoveries. He said the department has begun work on a 3–5 year strategic plan and expects to send a draft to the council "within one week" for feedback and about 10 days of review.

Council members pressed for a fuller committee presentation once the draft is available; Lazar accepted the invitation. The committee did not take any formal action during the briefing.

Next steps: the chief will provide the draft strategic plan to the council and return for a fuller presentation if requested.