ISPI's research library holds 56 papers, free to read: 12 white papers, 10 Hawaii policy research papers, 19 policy briefs and 15 commentaries. Each paper is published under the ISPI Research Staff byline and lists its sources.
56Published papers
6Research books
62Total publications
7Research domains
Document Type
Research Domain — 4 Categories · 21 Topics
Year
Commission Research
Need research on a specific policy question? ISPI accepts direct commissions from government agencies, corporations, and foundations worldwide.
Showing all 62 publications: 56 papers and 6 books, plus 2 forthcoming
⭐ Flagship Publication — Research Report · 2026
Island-State Security: Why Mainstream Frameworks Fail Pacific and Coastal Communities
And What Policymakers Must Build Instead
ISPI's foundational research document — establishing the core intellectual mandate for all subsequent research. Examines five structural gaps that mainland policy consistently fails to address and proposes a practitioner-grounded framework for island-state security policy development. Required reading for any government agency, foundation, or institution working on Pacific and island community public safety.
Island-specific policy research on Hawaii's most pressing public safety, community resilience, and governance challenges.
Hawaii Quality of Life & Infrastructure Policy Research
Policy Brief|ISPI-HI-01
Housing Affordability in Hawaii: Why Island-Specific Policy Frameworks Are Required
Emergency Preparedness & Quality of Life · May 2026
Examines how island conditions shape Hawaii's housing costs and public workforce, reviews policy options, and gives a neutral description of the 2026 RISE bonds amendment.
Hawaii Law Enforcement Workforce Crisis: Assessment and Evidence-Based Policy Response
Law Enforcement & Workforce Development · May 2026
Examines HPD's officer vacancies (448 sworn vacancies as of February 2, 2026, per HPD testimony) and non-salary retention interventions for island law enforcement.
Maui Recovery and Emergency Management Reform: Three Years After Lahaina
Emergency Preparedness & Island Resilience · May 2026
Independent assessment of whether Hawaii's emergency management frameworks have been reformed since August 2023 — or whether the $2B federal recovery investment has bypassed the design failures that produced the disaster.
Federal Funding Uncertainty and Hawaii's Island Resilience
Governance & Emergency Preparedness · May 2026
Examines how federal funding uncertainty reaches Hawaii's public safety and emergency management programs through state revenue and grants, and sets out state options to reduce exposure.
Native Hawaiian Land Rights, DHHL Policy, and Community Safety
At-Risk Youth, Community Safety & Governance · May 2026
Examines the DHHL waitlist and Act 279 in relation to public safety policy, and recommends studying whether stable housing affects youth justice outcomes.
AI Governance and Public Safety Technology in Hawaii: An Island-Calibrated Policy Framework
Governance & AI Public Safety Technology · May 2026
Addresses the small-population AI audit gap for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities — and presents ISPI's four-component island AI governance framework for public safety technology deployment.
Island-State Security: Why Mainstream Frameworks Fail Pacific and Coastal Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
ISPI's foundational white paper. Examines five structural gaps that mainland policy consistently fails to address in island communities and proposes a practitioner-grounded framework for island-state security policy development. The starting point for any government agency, foundation, or institution working on Pacific and island community public safety.
Organizational Insider Threat Assessment Framework for Island and Small-State Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
A full practitioner framework for insider threat detection, reporting, and response specifically designed for small island-state organizations. Addresses detection calibration for social network environments, third-party reporting architecture, culturally adapted behavioral baselines for Pacific Island contexts, and graduated response protocols for sole-provider workforces.
Island Emergency Management Framework: Replacing Continental Assumptions With Island-Reality Design
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
ISPI's framework for island emergency management — built on five first principles that fundamentally differ from continental assumptions: self-sufficiency primacy, shelter-in-place as co-equal strategy, pre-positioned community reserves, communication redundancy without infrastructure dependence, and maritime mutual aid. Includes the Maui wildfire as a framework failure case study.
Campus Safety Framework for Geographically Isolated Institutions
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Active threat response protocols, Clery Act compliance guidance, and institutional emergency preparedness for Hawaii and Pacific Island campuses where law enforcement response may take longer than in metropolitan settings.
Public Safety Workforce Policy for Island and High Cost-of-Living Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
HPD reported 448 vacant sworn positions in February 2026. This white paper examines the structural compensation-cost-of-living gap driving the Hawaii law enforcement recruitment and retention crisis — and identifies the specific evidence-based policy interventions that available research most strongly supports.
Supply Chain Security and Community Resilience in Island Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Hawaii imports an estimated 85-90% of its food. This white paper examines the supply chain singularity problem — the structural vulnerability that has no continental analog — and proposes a comprehensive policy framework for island supply chain security and community resilience.
Community Policing Policy for Small Pacific Island Jurisdictions
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
A framework for law enforcement in communities where everyone is connected. How small Pacific Island agencies can leverage community embeddedness as a policing asset while managing the conflict-of-interest and procedural integrity risks that deep community connection creates.
Public Safety Workforce Development Policy for Island and Pacific Territory Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Recruitment, retention, training access, and wellness policy for island first responders — addressing the geographic training isolation, cost-of-living misalignment, and cultural stigma barriers that compound into workforce capacity deficits far larger than any individual challenge would suggest.
At-Risk Youth Intervention Policy for Pacific Island and Native Hawaiian Communities: Evidence, Gaps, and Reform
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
State and OHA studies document overrepresentation of Native Hawaiian youth in Hawaii's juvenile justice system. This white paper examines the barriers that have limited alternatives to detention in island community juvenile justice systems — and the policy reforms most likely to produce measurable improvement.
Democratic Resilience and Governance Stability in Pacific Island Nations
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Using the 2022 Solomon Islands–China security agreement as a case, this white paper examines what predicts democratic governance resilience in small Pacific Island states — and the policy interventions most likely to strengthen it against deliberate external pressure.
AI Governance and Public Safety Technology Policy for Island and Small-State Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
NIST has documented demographic differentials in face recognition error rates, and small jurisdictions have fewer means to detect bias. ISPI's AI governance framework addresses pre-deployment validation, third-party audit requirements, and small jurisdiction oversight architecture.
Corporate Security and ESG Risk Policy for Island and Pacific Operations
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Continental corporate security frameworks miss five structural risk categories specific to island operations: supply chain singularity, hospitality insider threat, emergency preparedness duty of care, ESG accountability to indigenous communities, and reputational risk in close-knit island social environments. ISPI's integrated assessment framework addresses all five.
Why detection frameworks built for large institutions fail island-state workplaces. Examines four behavioral indicators systematically missed in small Pacific Island and Hawaii community organizations and proposes alternative detection architecture for environments where anonymity is structurally impossible.
Cybersecurity risks in island-state organizations where IT and security functions overlap. Examines the segregation of duties problem, cloud adoption governance gaps, and the specific digital insider threat profile of small Pacific Island and Hawaii government and private sector organizations.
When the port employee is both the security officer and the longshoreman. Examines workforce social density, cargo handling insider threat vectors, and the inadequacy of CBP frameworks for small island port environments where everyone knows everyone.
The Invisible Insider: Insider Threat in Hawaii's Tourism and Hospitality Industry
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
The risk nobody is assessing. Examines access breadth in high-turnover resort environments, the guest data vulnerability dimension, and ISPI's integrated three-dimension assessment framework for hospitality insider threat detection.
Trusted to Govern, Positioned to Harm: Insider Threat in Small Island Government Agencies
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
The policy gap no one has addressed. Examines multi-function government employees in small island agencies, paper compliance that provides no real risk reduction, and the political dynamics unique to small island government insider threat environments.
Calibrating for Community: Why Behavioral Threat Assessment Must Be Culturally Adapted for Pacific Island and Native Hawaiian Contexts
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Why BTAM frameworks developed largely in the United States can produce false positives and false negatives in Pacific Island and Native Hawaiian organizational contexts — and what culturally-calibrated assessment requires.
Patient safety, data security, and workforce integrity in geographically isolated medical environments. Examines the sole provider constraint that makes standard personnel responses to concerning behavior operationally catastrophic in island healthcare contexts.
Practitioner frameworks for identifying, scoring, and prioritizing threats before they materialize — grounded in Warren Pulley's career of more than 2,400 behavioral threat assessments.
Emergency Management — Preparedness & Island Resilience
View documents →
Commentary2026Emergency PreparednessNew
After the Fire: Three Years On — What the Maui Wildfire Reveals About Emergency Management Policy
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Three years after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century, ISPI examines what has changed in Hawaii's emergency management infrastructure — and what systemic failures remain unaddressed. Analyzes mass notification failures, evacuation constraints, and EOC coordination gaps.
When 90 Percent Arrives by Ship: Supply Chain Security and Island Community Vulnerability
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Hawaii imports an estimated 85-90% of its food. Examines supply chain singularity risk, port security framework gaps, and the inadequacy of 72-hour continental emergency assumptions for island communities.
Continuity Without a Continent: Redesigning COOP for Island Government Agencies
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
COOP planning assumes geographic options that island governments do not have. Examines the alternative facility myth, shelter-in-place continuity as primary strategy, and digital continuity infrastructure for governments that cannot relocate essential functions.
When the Ocean Comes Inland: Tsunami Preparedness Policy for Pacific Island and Hawaii Coastal Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center works. The community preparedness and policy infrastructure connecting warning to survival does not always work — especially in Pacific Islander language communities and communities with limited evacuation route capacity.
Hurricane Season in the Pacific: Emergency Management Policy Gaps for Tropical Cyclone Events
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Hawaii has not had a major hurricane landfall since 1992. Thirty years of non-event has produced planning gaps that ISPI's analysis identifies as consequential — particularly for a direct strike on Oahu with simultaneous airport closure, port disruption, and power grid failure.
Law Enforcement & Justice — Public Safety Workforce
View documents →
Commentary2026Workforce DevelopmentNew
The Silent Crisis: First Responder Mental Health in Island Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Why the mainland mental health safety net does not reach island first responders. Nationally, more police officers and firefighters died by suicide in 2017 than in the line of duty (Ruderman Family Foundation, 2018). Examines infrastructure gaps, cultural stigma dynamics, and workforce shortage compounding effects.
The Recruitment Crisis: Why Hawaii's Law Enforcement Agencies Cannot Hire
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
HPD was down more than 20 percent of its uniformed officers in mid-2026 (Hawaii News Now). The compensation and cost-of-living gap behind officer departures, and policy options to address it.
Policing the Community You Are From: Diversity, Cultural Competency, and Workforce Development in Hawaii Law Enforcement
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Why workforce diversity, language and cultural competency matter for community policing in Hawaii and Pacific Island law enforcement, and the structural barriers that shape who joins.
The Training Gap: Why Island Law Enforcement Cannot Access the Professional Development Their Officers Need
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Geographic distance from training centers, travel costs, and small agency budgets systematically deny island officers access to the specialized investigative training that their continental counterparts take for granted. The cases that go unresolved as a result.
The systemic challenges facing public safety professionals in island communities — workforce culture, institutional barriers, mental health stigma, and the policy reform agenda required to build sustainable public safety workforces.
Integrated: Mastering Multi-Threat Safety in Volatile Environments
Warren Pulley · 2025
An integrated safety framework for volatile environments — combining physical security, behavioral assessment, emergency management, and policy into a single practitioner-grounded model applicable to island and coastal community contexts.
Governance & Global — Campus & Institutional Safety
View documents →
Policy Brief2026Campus SafetyNew
Campus Safety in Isolation: Why Hawaii and Pacific Island Universities Need Their Own Security Framework
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Active threat frameworks often assume a quick law enforcement arrival. Rural and island campuses may wait longer, so campus plans need to cover the interval before police arrive.
Safe Schools in Isolated Communities: K-12 School Safety Policy for Hawaii and Pacific Island Schools
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Examines active threat response for rural Hawaii and Pacific Island schools where response time realities make standard protocols inadequate from the moment the event begins.
The Hospital at the End of the Road: Security Policy for Island Healthcare Facilities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Maui Memorial is Maui's only trauma center. Island hospitals are both critical infrastructure and community lifeline — and their security policy must reflect both roles simultaneously.
Securing the Seat of Government: Physical Security Policy for Small Island Jurisdiction Government Buildings
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
When the courthouse houses the supreme court, the legislature, and the governor's office simultaneously — because it's the only building large enough. Compound vulnerability with no continental analog and no existing security framework designed to address it.
Why universities are soft targets — behavioral threat assessment gaps, mass notification failures, access control weaknesses, and crisis leadership frameworks for administrators and trustees.
Law Enforcement & Justice — Community Policing & Justice
View documents →
Policy Brief2026Law EnforcementNew
Governing in the Gap: Public Safety Policy for U.S. Pacific Territories
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Guam, American Samoa, CNMI — 330,000 Americans with no dedicated public safety policy research institution until ISPI. Examines jurisdictional complexity, federal funding formula failures, and the complete absence of island-specific policy frameworks.
How tourism-dependent island economies create systematic human trafficking risk. Structural vulnerability analysis, port-based interdiction gaps, and small agency investigative capacity limitations in Pacific and Caribbean island communities.
Policing Where Everyone Is Connected: Community Policing Models for Small Pacific Island Jurisdictions
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
The community policing paradox in small island jurisdictions where officers went to school with the people they're arresting. Island-specific framework for preserving trust-building benefits while managing the conflict-of-interest risks that close community relationships create.
The Blue Highway: Drug Trafficking Networks in the Pacific and Their Community-Level Implications
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Hawaii ranks among the highest per-capita methamphetamine markets in the U.S. Examines trafficking network structure, youth recruitment in island community social networks, and the community safety dimensions that interdiction-focused policy consistently underanalyzes.
Justice for Island Youth: Reforming Juvenile Justice Policy for Pacific Island and Hawaii Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Native Hawaiian youth incarcerated at disproportionate rates for decades. Pacific Islander youth overrepresented in Hawaii Family Court. The evidence-based alternatives exist. ISPI examines the specific barriers to implementing them in island community juvenile justice systems.
Law Enforcement & Justice — Juvenile Justice & Youth
View documents →
Commentary2026At-Risk YouthNew
The Youth Challenge Model: What Quasi-Military Residential Programs Teach Us About At-Risk Youth Intervention Policy
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
What the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe model, operated in Hawaii since 1994, suggests about effective at-risk youth intervention design for island communities.
Indigenous Youth and the Justice System: Cultural Identity, Trauma, and Intervention Policy in Native Hawaiian Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · Expected 2026
A comprehensive policy analysis of Native Hawaiian youth overrepresentation in Hawaii's juvenile justice system — examining research gaps, cultural and institutional factors driving disparate outcomes, and evidence-based intervention reforms.
Forthcoming — register: ISPIGlobal@proton.me
Forthcoming
Indigenous Youth & Justice
ISPI · 2026
Governance & Global Policy — Pacific & Democratic Resilience
View documents →
Commentary2026AI & Public SafetyNew
When the Algorithm Doesn't Know the Island: AI-Assisted Public Safety Tools in Pacific and Island Community Contexts
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
AI public safety tools developed and tested outside island contexts may miscalibrate for Pacific Island and Hawaii populations — and the accountability gap makes this risk invisible in small jurisdictions with no oversight infrastructure to detect it.
Security, Risk, and ESG in Island Operations: What Corporations Operating in Hawaii and the Pacific Must Know
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Five critical gaps in continental corporate security frameworks applied to island operations — supply chain singularity, hospitality insider threat, emergency preparedness duty of care, indigenous community ESG accountability, and reputational risk dynamics in close-knit island communities.
Climate Security and Island Public Safety: How Climate Change Is Actively Reshaping Pacific and Coastal Island Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Kiribati is buying land in Fiji. Hawaii's coastal infrastructure is degrading. Five documented ways climate change is currently reshaping public safety challenges in Pacific and coastal island communities — with specific policy recommendations.
Small States, Large Pressures: Democratic Resilience and Institutional Fragility in Pacific Island Nations
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Using the 2022 Solomon Islands–China security agreement as a case, ISPI examines the institutional capacity factors that predict democratic governance resilience in Pacific Island nations.
What Beijing's Pacific Agreements Mean for Community Safety
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
The geopolitical analysis of China's Pacific security agreements is extensive. The community-level public safety implications — for the daily safety of the roughly 13 million people of the Pacific Islands region — are almost entirely absent from that analysis. ISPI fills the gap.
The Last Hospital on the Island: Public Health Emergency Infrastructure Policy for Geographically Isolated Island Communities
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
Island hospitals have limited surge capacity and few nearby alternatives. Examines single-provider healthcare vulnerability and island-specific preparedness standards.
Beyond Land Acknowledgment: What Genuine ESG Accountability Looks Like for Corporations Operating on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island Lands
Island Security Policy Institute · 2026
ISPI examines five practices that distinguish substantive corporate ESG accountability from performative land acknowledgment — including the specific security dimension that standard ESG frameworks overlook.
Research ReportForthcoming Q4 2026Emergency Preparedness
After the Fire: A Comprehensive Policy Analysis of the 2023 Maui Wildfire Emergency Management Response
Island Security Policy Institute · Expected Q4 2026
ISPI's comprehensive research white paper expanding the 2026 commentary — complete case documentation, framework failure analysis, and specific island emergency management reform recommendations for Hawaii state government and Pacific territory emergency managers.
By topic hub: insider threat, emergency preparedness, supply chain, law enforcement workforce, governance and global policy, youth justice, campus safety and Hawaiʻi.