But as it did so, HPD leadership warned that greater media access to real-time radio communications could violate state and federal laws and policies over the confidential nature of that often crime-related data.
In 2022, routine radio communications by Honolulu police and firefighters became off-limits to news organizations and the general public when a $15 million system that encrypts the frequencies used by nine city departments went into effect.
The conversion from an analog system to a P25 Motorola digital system allowed the departments to talk to each other on a single channel and was part of a national move away from analog radio systems by county, state and federal agencies.
Since that time, elected leaders and professional journalists have pushed for greater public transparency in HPD’s 24 /7 response to crimes and other emergencies on Oahu.
To that end, the Council’s Public Safety and Economy Committee passed Bill 46. The full Council is now expected to review the measure Aug. 6.
Introduced in May by Council Chair Tommy Waters and Council member Augie Tulba, Bill 46, if approved, would require HPD’s police chief to “adopt and implement a strategic plan and internal procedures for the timely release of public information to the media and the public.”
“The City Council finds that the release of public information by government agencies in a consistent, impartial, accurate and timely manner is critical to maintaining the public’s trust in government operations,” the bill states. “The HPD’s provision of timely and accurate information assists in the prevention of misinformation spreading within the community, which can cause panic and public distrust.”
As drafted, the bill would require the chief to “enter into a written agreement with local media outlets for the purpose of providing access to the Honolulu police department’s dispatch radio communications.” The police chief would also need to provide an annual report to the Council on HPD’s media relations and personnel training.
The bill dictates not just anyone would receive HPD’s radio communication transmissions.
The news outlet, which must operate within the City and County of Honolulu, needs to hold a valid broadcast license issued by the Federal Communications Commission, or, pursuant to state law, be a recognized legal or public notice publication, the bill states.
The measure requires that a legitimate news outlet have “a verifiable track record of professional journalism, including the employment of full-time editorial staff, adherence to a publicly-posted code of journalistic ethics, and a history of continuous publication or broadcasting for at least 10 years.”
In spite of the bill’s provisional passage, HPD Interim Chief Rade Vanic, who indicated initial support for the measure last month, told the Council he’s since backed away from that position.
“We understand and appreciate the intent of this bill to provide timely information to the public and enhance public safety, but as currently written Bill 46 presents serious legal, operational and ethical concerns that we cannot overlook,” he said. “Therefore, on behalf of the police department, I respectfully offer this testimony in strong opposition to Bill 46 as currently written.”
Vanic said he’d changed his stance on Bill 46 due to “a discussion with an individual” who told HPD “two departments (that are) well-respected in the law enforcement community on the mainland had changed their position, and they had given their radio systems to the media.”
But he claimed after checking with two unnamed departments HPD learned the agencies had not actually released radio systems to the media.
Likewise, HPD’s dispatch radio “often includes highly sensitive, personal information, that includes names, home addresses, medical conditions and criminal histories,” he said.
“Releasing this information in real time would violate Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 138, federal and state privacy laws on electronic communication, and Criminal Justice Information Service, or CJIS, Security Policies,” Vanic argued. “These are not optional guidelines. These are enforceable standards that exist to protect everyone.”
He noted police are “required by the FBI to adhere to their (CJIS) policy.”
“We have access to their system, which requires us to protect personally identifiable information,” he said. “We’re required by (FBI’s) security policy to protect that information, for anyone who is not allowed to have that … basically, anyone who does not have a law enforcement reason to have that (information) which includes the media or the public.”
He said if HPD does not protect its confidential information the city could face federal sanctions, “up to and including taking that system away.”
Vanic also claimed members of the news media are not “vetted” to access this confidential criminal justice information and personally identifiable information. “And quite frankly, they shouldn’t have to be,” he said.
He said HPD will promote public information by expanding its communications team, its social media presence, and launching a new media portal on its website that will include 24-hour calls for service data, social media feeds, traffic and arrest highlights, wanted people and press event notices.
Later, Vanic said he’d only support Bill 46 if the provision requiring the police chief to enter into a written agreement with local media outlets to provide greater access was deleted from the bill.
News media representatives testified on behalf of adopting the measure.
KHON-TV General Manager Kristina Lockwood said the loss of access to police radio communications has been “very difficult.”
And while she admitted HPD’s actions to offer more information to the media and public at large sounded “amazing … I don’t know if that’s in place right now.”
HPD, she added, currently provides a “media log” which “shows some incidents that have occurred, but not all.”
Highlighting logged police incidents for the month of July to date, Lockwood said on July 6, there was a mandatory evacuation of Maili due to a deadly wildfire. “That’s not even listed on here,” she asserted. “July 19, the freeway was shut down; that’s also not listed on here.”
“We do get the information from other sources, but it was so much better when we had access to the police scanner because it was in real time,” she added. “And we really were able to understand what was happening if something critical was happening in our state.”
Honolulu Star-Advertiser President and Publisher Dennis Francis submitted written testimony in support of Bill 46.
“To be clear, we are not asking for full access to emergency response communications,” Francis said. He cited a 2018 agreement between Las Vegas police and local media that allows limited access to encrypted emergency dispatch communication under tight controls.
“That agreement is still in place and serves as an example of how the news media and the city can work together for the good of the community,” he said.
The Hawaii Association of Broadcasters Inc., which represents over 100 TV and radio stations across the state, also testified in support of Bill 46.
“When scanners are closed, our ability to quickly alert the public about wildfires, accidents, and missing persons is delayed,” Chris Leonard, HAB’s president, said. “And delays can cost lives.”
Leonard said other police agencies — including in Palo Alto, Calif. — use more radio channels as well as cell phones to pass sensitive information on to respective officers. “So that it’s not able to be picked up by the public or the media,” he added.
During Council discussions, Waters—who’s not a member of the public safety committee—requested the panel pass Bill 46 “as is” for the full Council’s second reading of the legislation.
“With a commitment that between now and our next public safety meeting that we work together to address some of HPD’s concerns, especially dealing with the CJIS rules, Chapter 138,” Waters added. “And my understanding is Corporation Counsel wrote a letter with (legal) concerns that we want to address” as well.
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