{"id":2059,"date":"2026-07-01T10:37:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T10:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2059"},"modified":"2026-07-01T10:37:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T10:37:24","slug":"hpd-officer-vacancies-near-record-levels-as-new-chief-david-lazar-takes-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2059","title":{"rendered":"HPD officer vacancies near record levels as new chief David Lazar takes over"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<p>HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) &#8211; David Lazar will be sworn in Thursday as Honolulu\u2019s new police chief, inheriting an officer shortage that has grown steadily for years and now sits near record levels.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2057\">Hawaii officials urge wildfire prevention as summer dry season ramps up<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Honolulu Police Department is currently down more than 20% of its uniformed officers. Vacancy numbers show the problem has worsened over time, rising from just under 300 in 2020 to roughly 470 at the start of this year.<\/p>\n<h2>Union calls staffing crisis the top challenge<\/h2>\n<p>Don Faumuina, president of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO), said the shortage will be Lazar\u2019s most pressing issue from day one.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe staffing crisis is the largest and most difficult challenge that Chief Lazar will face,\u201d Faumuina said. \u201cThere\u2019s departments around the country that face similar challenges. The departments that are making progress are those that are actually acknowledging it, that it is a problem, and then they attack it head on.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Recruits can\u2019t keep pace with retirements<\/h2>\n<p>HPD currently has five academy classes underway with 155 recruits. Not all make it through and there are 312 officers already eligible to retire, having reached 25 years of service.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2055\">New Hawaiian Airlines design marks oneworld alliance membership<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the first half of this year, 30 officers have left the department \u2014 10 retired and 20 resigned.<\/p>\n<p>Recent efforts to address the shortage have included bonuses for new hires.<\/p>\n<h2>Retention now a focus for union<\/h2>\n<p>SHOPO said the department and city leaders need to shift focus toward keeping veteran officers on the job. The union is calling for retention bonuses, facility upgrades, and equipment modernization.<\/p>\n<p>Faumuina said morale is a factor in officers choosing to leave.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of our officers that are willing to stay,\u201d he said. \u201cBut honestly, they\u2019re tired. They\u2019re burnt out. There have been a lot of leadership changes in the past. Morale is hurting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hawaii News Now did ask HPD for an interview with Lazar to ask him about his plan to address vacancies but a spokesperson said the incoming chief would not be available for at least 11 days.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2053\">Maui wrestling coach sues Hawaii DOE, alleges wrongful termination<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Lazar will be sworn in as Honolulu police chief Thursday as HPD faces a more than 20% officer shortage, with vacancies up to about 470.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>HPD officer vacancies near record levels as new chief David Lazar takes over - 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