Hawaii County Police outline recruitment push, new customer-service texts and facilities priorities in 2025 budget review

Chief Ben Moskowitz, chief of police for Hawaii County, told the County Council at a May 1 special budget hearing that the Hawaii Police Department’s top priorities for fiscal year 2026 are increasing sworn staffing, expanding training, boosting grant funding and concentrating vice resources on drug-trafficking organizations. The department asked the council for budget adjustments to support those aims, plus facility upgrades and information-technology work.

The department seeks “to continue to conduct constant recruitment to get ourselves up to 470 sworn,” Chief Moskowitz said. He told the council HPD currently has 496 sworn positions authorized and about 57 vacancies; a recruit class of roughly 30 will begin in July. “We want to add a net of at least 30 officers” over the coming year, Moskowitz said, noting that recruit school, field training and attrition mean hiring must be sustained to make an on‑the‑street impact.

Moskowitz described several initiatives tied to the department’s FY25 accomplishments and FY26 objectives. He said HPD revamped its public website and launched a recruiting pipeline with University of Hawaii and Waiākea High School, filled new lieutenant-level posts for vice and Puna watch command, and created a grant coordinator position that…