White Paper Series · Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Island law enforcement agencies face a workforce crisis that standard recruitment and retention interventions cannot address because those interventions were designed for continental labor markets. The real driver is the island cost-of-living gap — and the interventions that close it are not currently standard practice.
Foundational research on law enforcement workforce challenges in island communities. Documents why continental workforce interventions fail in island labor markets and provides evidence-based island-specific alternatives addressing the real compensation gap driving departure. 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.
HPD operated at 448 sworn officer vacancies as of February 2026 — 32% growth over four years despite compensation increases
The real compensation gap is not salary but purchasing power: an officer earning $85,000 in Honolulu faces a $1.1M median home price that makes lateral transfer to mainland departments economically rational
Interventions with strongest documented retention evidence: housing assistance programs, student loan forgiveness tied to service, cost-of-living supplements indexed to actual island housing markets
Pacific Island national police forces face structural understaffing from the same cost-of-living dynamics operating at smaller scale. CARICOM IMPACS documents comparable workforce attrition across Caribbean island law enforcement agencies.
Pulley, Warren. "Law Enforcement Workforce Policy in Island Communities." Island Security Policy Institute, 2026. https://ispiglobal.com/papers-landing/wp05-law-enforcement-workforce.html