Kauai police chief outlines priorities, solutions amid staffing shortage

News admin July 18, 2026 0 Comments

Kauai police chief outlines priorities, solutions amid staffing shortage

LIHUE (HawaiiNewsNow) – Much like Oahu’s police department, the Kauai Police Department is also facing staffing challenges.

Chief Rudy Tai met with Hawaii News Now in a one-on-one interview to outline his priorities for the department since he stepped into the job just over four months ago.

“Staffing is hard. It’s an issue that we’re dealing with right now,” Chief Tai said. “We are down about 32 officers, and so when we look at the staffing and how we can better serve our communities, we gotta really hire people.”

Tai said the department is building a pipeline of future KPD employees by launching a cadet program aimed at recruiting local residents, giving them career opportunities at home.

“At 18 years old, you can join the Kauai Police Department and be part of our law enforcement team. You’re not a sworn officer, but you’re gonna support officers out there. You make $65,000 a year,” he said.

The department is also looking to hire detectives and promote talent within the ranks to fill supervisor roles.

“We would like to do promotions in the future so that we can really prepare future leaders to take over this department,” Tai added.

Improving communication with the public is another priority. Officials are looking to streamline community alerts with new technology.

Kauai County Council Public Safety Committee chair Felicia Cowden worked closely with Chief Tai in his first few months on the job.

“I would say he has beat my expectations of being receptive accountable, caring, wanting to help. He hasn’t in any way been dismissive or defensive or trying to move away from it happening. So he gets a double thumbs up from me,” Cowden said.

Chief Tai may rely on that support as he looks to expand the department with new positions, including a possible community relations officer and a recruiting unit.

“I think as we move further in the future, one thing I will be asking is for more funding to staff more officers or staff more positions,” he said.

Tai said he plans to stay in touch with other county police chiefs to figure out best ways to handle community crimes and reshape the image of law enforcement.

“We wanna be out there. We wanna change the perception of when you see an officer it’s something negative. We’re trying to flip that. When you see an officer, it’s something positive,” he said.