So I just arrived on the big island and was having a chat with my new neighbor. The topic moved in a 2a direction and I heard some horror stories about police corruption and anti gun agendas. He even claimed that the police sell gun registration lists to criminals so they know where to steal guns.

Is it really that bad here? I doubt it is but thought I should ask.

Never heard about that kind of stuff...but chiefs of police usually do not issue conceal carry....i know lots of cops who shoots competition with us, as well as gun guys as well.

Okay, thanks for the info gmac. Like I said, it sounded a bit far out, but I just thought I'd see what the attitude is towards the police from other gun owners here.

It is kinda messed up that they deny the people they are responsible for the ability to defend themselves though. Seems a little bass akwards. 

I don't know if they are that bad... I do think the police force here most positively had corrupt individuals.  SHOPO, Police officers union is very strong here and like any union it pretty much just coddles corruption... I know there are some police on this board and I am positive there are plenty that are honest and respectable individuals but nobody can deny that there are also a few bad eggs. I don't know about the other island but here on the BI It is hard for them to look like true professionals though... Just check out the disgraceful "subsidized" cars they drive around. It seems they are more concerned with who has the coolest cruiser than the whole "to protect and serve" thing. They argue it is cheaper for the dept. to use subsidized cars rather than maintain a fleet of vehicles. I call bullshit on that one. And if that were the case, why can't they just put some damn police decals on them to look somewhat like professionals?

I don't know if they are that bad... I do think the police force here most positively had corrupt individuals.  SHOPO, Police officers union is very strong here and like any union it pretty much just coddles corruption... I know there are some police on this board and I am positive there are plenty that are honest and respectable individuals but nobody can deny that there are also a few bad eggs. I don't know about the other island but here on the BI It is hard for them to look like true professionals though... Just check out the disgraceful "subsidized" cars they drive around. It seems they are more concerned with who has the coolest cruiser than the whole "to protect and serve" thing. They argue it is cheaper for the dept. to use subsidized cars rather than maintain a fleet of vehicles. I call bullshit on that one. And if that were the case, why can't they just put some damn police decals on them to look somewhat like professionals?

Or at the very least be the same color. I see chargers,mustangs,challengers,300 all rocking 20inch rims. Then you have the 4 Runners,Tahoes all with 3 inch lifts and oversized tires it is definitely different here on the BI then anywhere else. What I cannot wrap my head around is they do not even transport people in custody. They have to wait for an actual police unit to transport the detained.

I have seen that (On the BI myself), isn't there a federal law that says it is illegal to make traffic stops in unmarked cars? Also, they don't even have Gov. plates, in some states that is a huge No-No.

I also keep hearing about some survey that came back with something like 82% of people do not feel safe calling the police to handle a problem, any truth to that?

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The hawaii police did a satisfaction survey, which I participated in. Here are the results of that survey:

http://www.hawaiipolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Community-Satisfaction-Survey-2013.html

And here are the police chief's responses to the comments section that was at the end of the survey.

http://www.hawaiipolice.com/frequently-asked-questions-2013

My biggest beef with HPD is the damn cars and the fact I constantly see them driving around breaking laws. The cars are in my mind equivalent to calling the ambulance and what shows up is a lifted hummer on like 26's with the bass pounding. It is just plain unprofessional.

Then when you add in the fact I see them talking on the phone. Not following traffic laws.. speeding... How do you respect someone who clearly has no regard for the very laws they are tasked to enforce?

So looking over the responses from the chief all I saw was "We know we have corrupt cops and we ignore the laws you had better follow, but just let us know when we do it and we will get right on it, promise"

Why is it the only people you can call on the cops is the cops? "Who watches the watchmen?" As it were.

(Not that I do not have the utmost respect for the LEO's of our country that hold true to their duties.)

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Interesting read....

http://www.civilbeat.com/specials/projects/in-the-name-of-the-law/

Interesting read....

http://www.civilbeat.com/specials/projects/in-the-name-of-the-law/

Very interesting article. Shows just how much power unions can have. 

http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/sections/news/state/honolulu-police-union-defends-pay-differential.html

This article talks about how the union negotiated a raise for officers.......

Officers are given a standard of conduct differential for being expected to carry a firearm 24 hours a day. That differential will increase from $1 an hour to $4 an hour over four years as part of a new contract agreement issued this month. The agreement also gives officers a 16.8 percent raise over four years.

$4 an hour just for being expected to carry a firearm? Man, the damn state wont even let someone who wants to exercise their own rights carry a gun... for free.... but they are giving officers a raise for such a heavy burden. Not to mention that nice 16.8%

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/23073873/hawaii-county-struggles-to-pay-for-police-raises

Basically says hawaii county does not have the money. SHOPO says you pay up or we sue you... maybe we can bring back furlough fridays for the schools? Just a thought.   

http://www.kitv.com/Sources-Kailua-Officer-Accused-In-Rape-Will-Quit/-/8906042/5338314/-/item/0/-/ud5utdz/-/index.html

Good thing they put Nishimura in the community affairs division. He sounds like a real upstanding type of guy.

Much like the guy who beat an inmate and was assigned to training new officers. I guess his portion of the class would be the section on police brutality, and how to beat the system. I mean, who the hell wants to be lectured to by someone who has never walked in those shoes. 

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/22709388/exclusive-officers-call-in-sick-in-neighborhood-struck-by-property-crime

Boss trying to make sure you are doing your job? Man that pisses everyone off doesn't it? Seems these fine individuals really stuck it to the man. Or, I guess their own community. By calling in sick. Gotta use them sick days up sometime right?

http://www.toledonewsnow.com/story/22738085/www.toledonewsnow.com

Even with the crappy video in that one I can still see the damn veins popping out of his head. You can hear him yelling "you're lucky you don't get arrested!!!" I think this is similar to those 10 codes... I looked it up  but the best translation I could get is-

"brah, you lucky I nevah buss out my nightstick and lick you ass and den what I goin' do is have one sidewalk pop jest for make sure nobody going hear about diss cause I not going end up in da community affair or wose yet get fire again for da sec time."

Now, I know, I know.. You must be thinking I am anti-police. But... I am anti people taking advantage. Anti corruption. Anti lazy. I think alot of these guys are doing the job for all the wrong reasons. If you are a police officer you should hold yourself to a higher standard. And you should expect your colleagues to do the same. Pride in what you do. Not pride in being able to do whatever you want.


Now who wants to start a thread on county workers? 

I see chargers,mustangs,challengers,300 all rocking 20inch rims.

hey, let's not give the Mustang a bad name now.   

The hawaii police did a satisfaction survey, which I participated in. Here are the results of that survey:

http://www.hawaiipolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Community-Satisfaction-Survey-2013.html

And here are the police chief's responses to the comments section that was at the end of the survey.

http://www.hawaiipolice.com/frequently-asked-questions-2013

My biggest beef with HPD is the damn cars and the fact I constantly see them driving around breaking laws. The cars are in my mind equivalent to calling the ambulance and what shows up is a lifted hummer on like 26's with the bass pounding. It is just plain unprofessional.

Then when you add in the fact I see them talking on the phone. Not following traffic laws.. speeding... How do you respect someone who clearly has no regard for the very laws they are tasked to enforce?

No department will ever bee 100% free of some type of corruption. Technically free coffee for cops at 7-11 is corruption, but not the type we think about when we talk about corruption. There will always be a bad apple. Part of the problem is that for the police profession you want a strong person who can control a situation. THese people are often type a personalities. The problem here is that these types of people are also more likely to be aggressive, rude, or overbearing. So in a way the personality type we need for cops is also the personality type we don't want for cops.

As for the subsidized cars there is a financial argument for the department. They would probably have to rebuild the main station to accommodate everyone driving a marked police car.
I do know they have regulations on what cars can be used as subsidized cars and they cannot be all tricked out with aftermarket stuff.
For your comment about the traffic laws I think that complaint is also often an unjustified complaint. For example how does an officer catch a speeder if he doesn't speed up to catch up to the vehicle? Sometimes cops wont use their blue lights when breaking a traffic rule because using blue lights create their own hazards for driving and for alerting a suspect. If a cop needs to make a u-turn to catch a felon he probably wants to do it without attracting attention so the bad guy doesn't have a chance to run. Sure there are times that cops break the rules without justification but often times we see a cop break a rule and assume it was unjustified when in reality it  very well may have been.

No department will ever bee 100% free of some type of corruption. Technically free coffee for cops at 7-11 is corruption, but not the type we think about when we talk about corruption. There will always be a bad apple. Part of the problem is that for the police profession you want a strong person who can control a situation. THese people are often type a personalities. The problem here is that these types of people are also more likely to be aggressive, rude, or overbearing. So in a way the personality type we need for cops is also the personality type we don't want for cops.

As for the subsidized cars there is a financial argument for the department. They would probably have to rebuild the main station to accommodate everyone driving a marked police car.
I do know they have regulations on what cars can be used as subsidized cars and they cannot be all tricked out with aftermarket stuff.
For your comment about the traffic laws I think that complaint is also often an unjustified complaint. For example how does an officer catch a speeder if he doesn't speed up to catch up to the vehicle? Sometimes cops wont use their blue lights when breaking a traffic rule because using blue lights create their own hazards for driving and for alerting a suspect. If a cop needs to make a u-turn to catch a felon he probably wants to do it without attracting attention so the bad guy doesn't have a chance to run. Sure there are times that cops break the rules without justification but often times we see a cop break a rule and assume it was unjustified when in reality it  very well may have been.

+1...what one's perception of things happening might not be the actual.

THese people are often type a personalities.

I think you need to read up on type "A" personalities.  Cops are most certainly not driven to succeed, workaholic CEO types.

What you are describing is far more like the schoolyard bullies that were larger than the other kids and took advantage of it.  As they got older in high school, that behavior branched out to challenging teachers as well as weaker students.  They enjoyed instilling physical fear in others.  A natural for cops trained to "control the situation".

I certainly saw it, remember well the guys I knew in HS that became cops and what they were like before.  Type A kids would have gone to college, these went into the LAPD.

I think you need to read up on type "A" personalities.  Cops are most certainly not driven to succeed, workaholic CEO types.

What you are describing is far more like the schoolyard bullies that were larger than the other kids and took advantage of it.  As they got older in high school, that behavior branched out to challenging teachers as well as weaker students.  They enjoyed instilling physical fear in others.  A natural for cops trained to "control the situation".

I certainly saw it, remember well the guys I knew in HS that became cops and what they were like before.  Type A kids would have gone to college, these went into the LAPD.

You are partially correct, I probably wouldn't describe most cops as workaholics but the attitudes I was describing fit many of the type A personality traits.
I wouldn't necessarily agree with the high school bully stereotype but there are certainly those out there too.
My point was that it is tough to find a perfect balance. Many of the personality types that help police be good police in certain situations also kind of hurt them in other situations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_A_and_Type_B_personality_theory#Type_A

As of any organization or work environment, one or more individuals may have "a chip on their shoulder" or the Napoleon syndrome.  These types of individuals get their  new found power behind their badge, guns, status, position, wealth, etc

As for the subsidized cars there is a financial argument for the department. They would probably have to rebuild the main station to accommodate everyone driving a marked police car.
I do know they have regulations on what cars can be used as subsidized cars and they cannot be all tricked out with aftermarket stuff.
For your comment about the traffic laws I think that complaint is also often an unjustified complaint. For example how does an officer catch a speeder if he doesn't speed up to catch up to the vehicle? Sometimes cops wont use their blue lights when breaking a traffic rule because using blue lights create their own hazards for driving and for alerting a suspect. If a cop needs to make a u-turn to catch a felon he probably wants to do it without attracting attention so the bad guy doesn't have a chance to run. Sure there are times that cops break the rules without justification but often times we see a cop break a rule and assume it was unjustified when in reality it  very well may have been.

I think that you have not witnessed first hand the behavior and activities I am talking about. I do not speak of LEO as a whole, only the police I see here in Kona and including also others on the island.  There is no argument for the dept. They want the subsidized cars. The financial argument is just an excuse. As for the officers, I don't blame them i would rather cruise around in my own car all day than some beat up cruiser. 

My question is... Why the hell can't they put decals on the cars? (i'll tell you. Its not cool. Thats why.)

They indeed do have requirements that must be met with regards to the type of vehicle. But again. A tricked out mustang.. or Chrysler 300 with "dubs" is not an acceptable car in my opinion.  They must have an actual police vehicle outfitted as such come to transport anyone. A waste of resources.

With regards to following traffic laws... Look, I get where you are coming from. You are an LEO and I am not. But regardless. When I see officer X putting the hammer down as I see him do quite often, And then 3 minutes later the car is parked in the Lanihau shopping center parking lot where they all go for breakfast .. Pretty confident he is not breaking the law to arrest a perp. or stop a domestic violence call. Instead I think he probably just enjoys the sound of the free gasoline burning through that aftermarket exhaust and knowing that he can because "I am the LAW!!!" Or maybe the cop who lives down the road from me, When I see him talking on the cell phone while driving on his way to his house. Gonna take a wild guess that it is not official police business.