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HPD unveils media portal, cautions against live dispatch feeds over officer safety and privacy
Summary
Interim HPD leadership presented a redesigned media landing page, a near–real-time media SMS alert system modeled on Honolulu Fire Department practices, and a 24-hour incident log; department officials said bill 46’s requirement for live radio dispatch access as written raises safety and privacy concerns.
Interim Honolulu Police Department leadership briefed the City Council Committee on Public Safety and Economy on Aug. 21 about current and planned changes to the department’s media relations and public-access information.
Interim Chief Rodney Vadick (presenting as acting chief) said HPD’s public website (honolulupd.org) and social media channels provide arrest logs, active calls, a crime dashboard, traffic advisories and other public resources. He said the department is designing a consolidated media landing page intended as a one-stop portal for press contacts, 24-hour incident summaries, arrest logs, wanted-persons lists and press releases. Vadick said the portal is expected to be released "in the near future" and anticipated to be completed by the end of the month.
On Bill 46 — legislation discussed previously that would standardize public access to emergency-related information — Vadick said the department supports the intent of increased transparency but opposes aspects that would require live radio-dispatch feeds or otherwise expose officers and individuals to safety and privacy risks as currently drafted. "We believe as currently drafted, it exposes HPD officers to significant safety risks and undermines individual privacy rights," he said.
Vadick described two near-term products: a unified media landing page and a media-only text-message alert system modeled after the Honolulu Fire Department’s Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) feed. The media CAD feed is intended to deliver near–real-time incident notifications to credentialed media outlets, not a public live stream. Vadick emphasized that the department wants a "cushion" — not literal live, instantaneous feeds — because live information about active shootings or volatile scenes could endanger officers, victims or the integrity of an investigation.
When Council members probed content and cadence, Vadick said the planned media portal will include a 24-hour historical incident log that lists incident type, classification, a partial address and final disposition and that the log will refresh periodically (other agencies refresh four to six times per day). He said the department is still deciding exact refresh cadence to balance timeliness and operational security. The department confirmed the 24-hour log would avoid personal identifying information.
Vadick said HPD will host a media roundtable at the station Aug. 26 and follow up with individual newsroom meetings to tailor the portal and the alert system to media needs. Council members pressed for internal written communications from HPD leadership to employees; Vadick said internal communication is a priority for the newly expanded public-affairs team and named Claudette Springer as HPD’s communications director (Springer contributed to the briefing materials).
Why it matters: The discussion touches on balancing timely public information, media access and officer safety/privacy. Committees and the department will need to reconcile the aims of Bill 46 with operational security and privacy protections.
What’s next: HPD expects to roll out the media landing page soon, continue meetings with media outlets, and pilot a credentialed near–real-time alert system while refining what information is published to avoid identifying victims or interfering with active responses.
