HONOLULU (KHON2) — Well, nearly the worst. Hawaiʻi ranks 50th out of 51 states (including the District of Columbia).
The profession in question? Police Officers.
In the list of the bottom 10 places where you’d want to be a police officer, we rank amongst Montana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Oregon, Alabama, West Virginia, Arkansas, Nevada and Alaska.
Hawaii isn’t ranked in the top or bottom based on the number of officers we have. We are somewhere in the middle.
We also don’t rank in the top or bottom of salaries offered to officers. Again, we’re somewhere in the middle.
Not the most prosperous or progressive ranking. So, what makes it so bad in Hawaii?
First, it’s important to understand who we are not like. We are not like the top ranked states (California, Illinois and Connecticut) which offers unique benefits such as high wages, extensive training requirements and progressive laws aimed at enhancing safety and professionalism within the police force.
The report indicates that Hawaii’s quality of police officers could be enhanced if the criteria and standards set by these top states served as benchmarks for Hawaii to evaluate and potentially enhance our own law enforcement policies and practices.
The emphasis on rigorous training programs, de-escalation techniques and competitive compensation packages in states like California underscores the potential benefits of investing in these areas.
Hawaii could consider similar investments to improve officer readiness, community relations and overall public safety.
“Some states make protecting and serving the public in a law enforcement career more appealing than others,” explained Cassandra Happe, an analyst with the report. “The best states for police officers offer competitive compensation, supplemented by solid training that helps minimize the chances of deadly violence between officers and civilians. State-level policies like ‘red flag laws’ or ‘Blue Alerts’ also contribute to a better environment for police.”
Some of the proactive measures being employed by the top ranked states have potential to set up Hawaii’s law enforcement officers for success in their work as well as in the community.
For example, Illinois and Connecticut have developed what is known as “red flag” laws and “Blue Alerts”. These systems strategies allow police officers to handle issues like mental health crises and the use of force that reduce job hazards for police while improving outcomes in police-community interactions.
Ultimately, this report emphasizes the importance of resource allocation, training and policy in shaping the effectiveness and safety of law enforcement.
You can click here for the full report.
It not enough to throw money at it. It’s not enough to just hire more people. We have to create a system in which police officers are a respected part of our community rather than the enemy of the people.