KPD needs its own PIO

The county should fund a public information officer for the Kaua‘i Police Department so the community can stay better informed on the latest news regarding the variety of crimes that happen here. Instead of channeling everything through the one busy PIO who is scrambling to serve the entire county, streamlining the system to have such a position just for the police department makes sense.

We first wrote these words in an editorial outlining our hopes for 2010. Nine months later we’ve seen little-to-no improvement in the dissemination of timely and accurate information from our administration’s communications team.

Setting minor inaccuracies aside, the county PIO has at least twice this year released misspelled names in critical news releases concerning a murder and a missing person who was later found dead.

Given the recent number of assaults and unattended deaths — not to mention the county’s apparent gag order for its employees to not speak directly to any media unless authorized to do so — we believe now more than ever the county should fund a public information officer for the Kaua‘i Police Department.

This will help the community stay better informed with the latest news regarding the variety of crimes that happen here.

Let us again say: Instead of channeling everything through the one already busy PIO who is scrambling to serve the entire county, let’s create a similar position just for the police department.

We would even welcome funding an additional PIO for the police and fire departments to share, as so often they go out on the same calls.

We believe the most effective police departments include a dedicated public information officer who is specifically trained in police matters.

With a multi-million-dollar surplus, we have more than enough money in our reserves to get this position off the ground and running.

The current system has and continues to result in untimely and, in some cases, incorrect information. Let’s not delay in solving this urgent problem.