A newly created 11-member task force is seeking to reduce the Honolulu Police Department’s dire staffing shortage of 456 uniformed officer vacancies which has grown 32% in some four years despite mitigation efforts. Led by the City Council, the task force, is composed of elected leaders, city staff, union members and one outside law enforcement agent. The task force’s creation follows the June 4 passage of Council Vice Chair Andria Tupola’s Resolution 160, which claimed HPD’s persistent staffing shortage “resulted in inadequate police coverage across Oahu, increased emergency response times, unmanageable caseloads for police detectives, and increased safety risks for both officers and the public.” Tupola is set to chair the new task force, whose other members include: >> Honolulu Deputy Managing Director Krishna Jayaram. >> HPD’s Interim Chief of Police Rade Vanic. >> Assistant Chief of Police Aaron Takasaki-Young (appointed by Council Chair). >> HPD Police Maj. Parker Bode (alternate). >> Honolulu Department of Human Resources Director Nola Miyasaki. >> DHR Deputy Director Bugs Baguio (alternate). >> Hawaii Government Employees Association Union Agent John Higgins. >> Honolulu Police Commission Chair Kenneth Silva. >> State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers Union Honolulu Chapter Chair Jonathan Frye. >> Portland Police Bureau Officer Thomas Carvalho. Council Chair Tommy Waters said in a statement, “The safety of our city is our top priority. HPD has been experiencing ongoing staffing challenges that necessitate prompt and coordinated efforts to address them effectively. This task force will work to find solutions for the underlying causes of vacancies and attrition.” Waters added the Council is “placing heightened focus on HPD vacancies because public trust relies on having enough well-trained officers in place to keep our communities safe.” As pushed for by Resolution 160, the new task force is likely to focus on the following issues: >> Analyze HPD recruitment and retention challenges and identify the primary causes of vacancies. >> Review and evaluate existing hiring and retention initiatives, including financial incentives. >> Assess HPD’s hiring standards to determine whether they are unnecessarily restrictive and qualified applicants from being hired. >> Develop a strategic plan with short- and long-term recommendations to reduce vacancies and improve officer retention. >> Evaluate HPD’s budget to ensure funding is directed toward staffing priorities. But the new Council-run task force — scheduled to hold meetings from August through November — will not convene in public, according to Council spokesperson Andrew Phomsouvanh. “These meetings are not open to the public as the task force functions as an advisory committee to the Honolulu City Council, and are not subject to Sunshine Law,” he said. Although the task force itself will not meet publicly, Phomsouvanh noted after the Council receives the task force’s final report — due within 180 days of the resolutions adoption, or by Dec. 1 — the Council may introduce legislation based on those recommendations. “It is at that stage the public will be able to provide comments,” he said. Phomsouvanh added the task force will remain active until there are sustained improvements in recruitment, retention, and staffing levels. “It may be dissolved by Council resolution once these objectives are met, with no set expiration date beyond the initial 180‑day reporting deadline,” he said. Meanwhile, Tupola’s Resolution 160 highlighted part of HPD’s challenge that the department has not used all of its annual appropriations. In fiscal year 2024, HPD’s patrol division let approximately $15 million in funding lapse — the largest lapsed amount of any city department, according to the Status of the City’s Finances 2025 report issued by the Office of Council Services. The report also noted HPD let $50 million of its overall fiscal year 2024 appropriation lapse. To put that into perspective, in March, HPD submitted a fiscal year 2026 operating budget request of nearly $400 million to fight crime. Tupola’s resolution noted that HPD’s vacancies of 456 uniformed officers as of February 2025, compared to 345 vacancies in February 2021, despite ongoing efforts to reduce the shortage. The addition of Portland Police Bureau Officer Carvalho to the task force as an outside law enforcement agency could offer further insight into HPD’s vacancies issue, Tupola said. According to his LinkedIn post, Carvalho has worked as a full-time background investigations supervisor on Portland’s police force since 2019. Carvalho had worked for HPD’s Human Resources division from 2008 to 2017, the professional networking site indicates. Creation of the new task force coincides with the controversy that has erupted over the departure of Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan — who received strong criticism for not adequately addressing HPD’s escalating staffing shortage. In June, Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced Logan’s retirement. But earlier this month, Logan alleged he was forced to retire and is now demanding the city pay him for the two years remaining on his contract. Logan’s attorney, Joseph T. Rosenbaum, sent a demand letter to the city outlining his claim that he is owed two years of salary, about $460,000. Logan is paid about $230,000 a year and was serving a five-year term.