Starting fresh: Chief Ballard outlines plans to revitalize HPD

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - "A new beginning." That's what Honolulu's new police chief said is the theme of the department going forward.

Chief Sue Ballard had her first chance to share her new ideas with police commissioners and the public Wednesday afternoon.

The first thing she said she wanted to do was, "leave everything in the past and move forward."

In a very detailed presentation, she explained what she expects to accomplish during her term as head of the department.

Over the next five years, Chief Ballard said the values she hopes to restore is leadership, integrity, excellence, accountability and teamwork.

Her priorities include preventing and solving crime, recruiting and retaining quality employees, improving efficiency and advancing the use of technology like body cameras and possibly dashboard cameras.

But above all, she says restoring and maintaining community trust is most important.

"If someone asks us a question and the information is within the legal bounds, and within the collective bargaining agreement, we're gonna get that information out as quickly as possible. No more, 'Oh well, we're investigating it and we can't tell you.' As soon as we get the information and we can release it, we are going to release it," Chief Ballard said.

Ballard also talked about how they hope to improve domestic violence investigations, rebuild their juvenile crime unit and coordinate an inter-agency response to the homeless crisis.

Although advancing to dash cam technology is a long-term goal, Ballard did not have an exact date for when they will be open to testing.

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