Maui Police present budget requests for radios, canine unit, forensics, helicopter and staffing

Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier told the County Council’s Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee that his department’s budget requests are focused on operational technology, personnel stability and new tactical capabilities.

"This is a game changer," Pelletier said, referring to a proposed upgrade to the department’s portable radios and tracking capabilities. He told the committee the department is asking for a mix of equipment and position changes including conversion of part‑time cold‑case investigators to full‑time, final funding for a Computer‑Aided Dispatch/Records Management System (CAD/RMS), a new canine program, portable radios that can use cellular and Wi‑Fi as repeaters, and a patrol helicopter.

The requests detailed by Pelletier included: $2 million for the final CAD/RMS interfaces and related work; new portable radios (the chief cited an advanced model with GPS and Wi‑Fi/cellular failover, describing individual units the department is seeking as substantially more capable than existing radios); two patrol police dogs to start (with Hawaiian names the chief gave as Kumakani and Maka'ihei), with a plan to purchase eight dogs in an initial rollout; and a helicopter identified by the department as “Heikili” (branded “Blue Thunder”) that the department expects to place in service this summer.

Nut graf: The department told the committee these investments are intended to improve officer safety, incident response and evidence capabilities. Pelletier and deputy leaders emphasized recruiting and retention as drivers of some requests, and they said several high‑priority items were edited or removed from the mayor’s proposed budget.

Pelletier also described the department’s forensic and evidence capabilities, saying the county’s forensic facility now holds equipment—purchased in part with funds routed through the Maui Police Foundation—that can produce rapid DNA profiles in hours. "We can get a profile in less than an hour," Pelletier said, noting the machine was used during wildfire response and has drawn interest from other islands.

Staffing and vacancies surfaced repeatedly in the presentation. Pelletier said the department had made aggressive recruiting gains but that internal promotion and testing cadence had created short‑term staffing bottlenecks. He cited a large number of vacancies across job classes and explained the department’s need to promote from within to fill supervisory and specialty posts. He described a pipeline of recruits and said some vacancies reflect the department’s recent acceleration in hiring.

Several items identified by the police were reduced or removed in the mayor’s proposed budget. Pelletier told the committee that a second fingerprint examiner request and some investigator office furniture were removed. Stacy Moniz, chair of the Police Commission, testified separately in support of a full‑time commission investigator, saying the commission has about five complaints pending back to 2022 and that a devoted investigator would shorten that backlog.

Committee members pressed on portable radios. Pelletier said the department requested radios that can act as location beacons, use Wi‑Fi and cellular networks as repeaters inside structures where radio coverage is poor, and show real‑time locations of officers. The department asked initially for half the fleet to be replaced, with plans to equip patrols first; Deputy Chief Wade Maeda told the committee that prioritizing patrol radios would provide the largest immediate benefit for response and officer safety. Pelletier warned the committee that delaying full replacement risks future price increases and loss of vendor support for legacy models.

The department also asked for equipment to safely destroy seized drugs and firearms. Pelletier described a proposed narcotics incinerator (about $56,000) and firearm shredding equipment (around $100,000) as replacements for ad‑hoc methods now in use. He urged the council to consider restoring or adding funding for those items.

Other capital and operational requests discussed included improvements to the Wailuku station (a 40‑year‑old building that Pelletier said is not ADA compliant), vehicle and radio‑shop upgrades shared across county departments, and a canine training program the department said will support Molokai and potentially Lanai patrols. Pelletier said some items—an armored rescue vehicle the department sought for West Maui (approximately $350,000 in his presentation)—were removed from the mayor’s proposal.

Ending: Committee members asked for follow‑up documents, including a redacted staffing/hierarchy list Pelletier agreed to provide, and indicated they will continue deliberations alongside other departmental budget hearings before final decisions are made.