Hawaii Policy Research Series · Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
HPD's 448 sworn officer vacancies as of February 2026 represent a 32% increase over four years despite a 27% pay raise and expanded recruitment. This is a retention failure driven by the real compensation gap created by Hawaii's $1.1 million median home price — not a recruitment failure that standard interventions address.
Independent analysis of HPD's staffing crisis documenting the real compensation gap driving lateral transfers to mainland departments and providing evidence-based island-specific retention interventions. Presented to incoming HPD Chief David Lazar. This research is produced under the ISPI Research Methodology Guide v4.0 — five pillars: government agency sources, regional organizations, OSINT/Bellingcat two-source verification, the ISPI Global Expert Panel of 78 members across 14 disciplines, and AI synthesis under practitioner review. All ISPI research is free under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
448 sworn officer vacancies as of February 2, 2026 — documented in HPD Interim Chief Vanic testimony to the Honolulu City Council
32% vacancy growth over four years despite a 27% SHOPO salary increase in November 2025 — demonstrating that compensation increases alone do not address the retention driver
The real departure driver is the homeownership calculation: a lateral transfer to a mainland department paying $15,000 less restores homeownership feasibility that $85,000 in Honolulu does not provide
Pacific Island national police forces in Fiji, PNG, and Solomon Islands face comparable workforce attrition driven by officer departure to New Zealand, Australia, and private security — the same structural dynamic operating at smaller scale.
Pulley, Warren. "Law Enforcement Workforce Policy in Hawaii: HPD Staffing Crisis Analysis." Island Security Policy Institute, 2026. https://ispiglobal.com/papers-landing/hi03-law-enforcement-workforce.html