This story shouldn’t exist. I shouldn’t have to write it, and you certainly shouldn’t need to read it. But if you believe in democracy and open, honest government, then nothing about the political state of affairs in this country, state or county is even close to optimal. Which is why I’m writing this story, which […]
Analyzing the Maui Police Department’s policy governing body worn cameras
Filing a request under Hawaii’s Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA), MauiTime has obtained a copy of the Maui Police Department’s policy regarding its deployment of body worn cameras (BWCs). While I was reporting our Nov. 29, 2017 cover story “What Happened To Accountability,” MPD public information officer Lt. Gregg Okamoto told me the policy was […]
Here are 10 Hawaii bills dealing with criminal justice and law enforcement that you need to know about
The state Legislature’s been legislating for about a month now. There are a lot of bills still alive over there, including some that might actually do some good. Because no one has the time to go through them all and figure out what’s good, we’ve compiled a list of 10 bills that deal with criminal […]
Will the Hawaii Legislature finally allow the public to see the names of bad cops?
Watch out, because the state Legislature is actually on track to doing the right thing in regards to making public the names of bad cops. There have been so many fruitless attempts to undo the disaster that was the 1995 state law exempting police officers from the state’s Uniform Information Practices Act that I’m hesitant to write […]
Surprise! Hawaii police union opposes new bill that would make public the names of disciplined cops
Yeah, we can’t believe it either: Senate Bill 497 “Repeals the privacy exemption within the Uniform Information Practices Act [UIPA] for county police department officers,” according to the bill text. It was introduced on Jan. 23 by small handful of state Senators, including Maui’s own Roz Baker, D–South Maui. Myriad organizations have already submitted testimony […]