HONOLULU — Two years into his tenure as Honolulu’s 12th police chief, Arthur “Joe” Logan is exceeding expectations as a leader, innovator and a cost saver while needing to improve internal and external communications, according to his second annual review by the Honolulu Police Commission.
“Chief Logan is trying to change the culture of the department in a positive way. He leads by example with solid values and positivity that is tempered by the realities of each situation. It is not flashy, but his efforts are to work with his leadership team to address longstanding issues, including staffing of patrol at the expense of special assignments, recruiting with renewed focus in certain areas (like military and athletes), and implementing a hiring incentive with the (Mayor Rick) Blangiardi administration,” read some of the comments.
The commission recommended “areas for renewed focus” including external communication that demonstrates Logan, HPD’s leadership or someone at the department is accessible in “times of alarm or concern.”
In January, Blangiardi criticized the department for its lack of transparency following a New Year’s Day-long pursuit of an attempted murder suspect that ended with two officers getting shot before the suspect was killed.
In February, Logan told commissioners he was starting the search for a uniformed officer to serve as one of the department’s spokespeople for the first time since 2009.
Commissioners also urged Logan to continue a “positive relationship with media” and develop “more strategic communication” and internal communication to ensure officers and civilian staff understand where the department is going.
Commissioner Ann Botticelli, speaking during Wednesday’s meeting, lauded Logan’s openness with commissioners and collaboration while addressing and illuminating issues that have long sought solutions.
“I sense a desire on your part to understand how the department can be better and to act on that. … I know that it’s hard and it makes some people uncomfortable, but I do encourage you to continue in those endeavors,” Botticelli said. “We’ve talked … about … making more specific metrics in your strategic plan and you’ve been open to that.”
Commissioners also encouraged Logan to treat his plan like a living document that changes with circumstances and the times. Communicating those changes and getting officers to buy in through regular communication will help.
Logan was selected as Honolulu’s 12th police chief by the Honolulu Police Commission on May 23, 2022.
He had 20 years’ experience with HPD before becoming chief, worked as a criminal investigator for the state Attorney General’s Office before he was selected by the commission.
Logan previously served as adjutant general of the Hawai‘i National Guard and as director of the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency.
The evaluation released Wednesday was Logan’s second since becoming chief and the first since he presented his Action/Strategic Plan for changing the department to commissioners last year.
The 11-page evaluation covered seven specific categories and Logan’s 26-page strategic plan was attached.
Commissioners wrote that Logan, who oversees about 2,000 officers and civilian staff with an annual budget of more than $300 million, has one of the hardest jobs in government.
The department is short 400 officers at a time when recruiting police is tough nearly everywhere in the country.
Like any law enforcement leader, being universally beloved is secondary to keeping the community safe and looking out for the officers and civilian staff.
In the first category, commissioners evaluated the progress Logan has made a year into his plan. That was followed by a look at Logan’s leadership, his managerial execution, budget and fiscal prowess, training and developing officers, communication and community relations and how he works with the police commission.
Commissioners checked one of three boxes next to an array of job responsibilities that listed exceeds expectations, meets expectations, and below expectations.
Logan met expectations in 19 metrics, exceeded expectations in seven others and did not perform below expectations in any category.
The results were similar to his first evaluation in 2023 when commissioners also believed Logan met or exceeded their expectations in every category they measured.
His highest marks in the evaluation released Wednesday came in the leadership category, exceeding commissioners’ expectations in four categories, including by maintaining “the highest degree of personal and professional integrity and ensures that the departmental integrity is not compromised,” according to the evaluation, which also said Logan “is fair in decisions and actions.”
Logan got the highest mark for seeking “new and better ways of achieving the Department’s goals and objectives.” Commissioners gave him top marks for maintaining good working relationships with federal, state and other county law enforcement agencies.
Overall, Logan’s leadership exceeded expectations and met expectations in the six other categories commissioners evaluated him on.
The strongest recommendations came in the comments under communication and community relations.
Logan was lauded for putting police highlights online, and keeping a live database of online crime maps, performance and offense statistics in a data dashboard — innovations that were a long time coming.
“The department falls short on proactive strategic communications planning and execution and 24-hour accessibility of information, which lowers the rating of this metric to a ‘meets’ expectations,” read the commissioners’ comments. “The Commission and the Chief have also discussed truncating the many levels of approval needed before information is released publicly, which creates delays in the dissemination of essential information.”
“We encourage the chief to prioritize improvement in this area,” wrote the commissioners.
Commissioner Elizabeth “Libby” Char, a doctor and former director of the state Department of Health, echoed those comments during Wednesday’s commission meeting, after praising Logan’s communication with commissioners.
“… I would just reiterate, strongly suggesting increasing strategic communications. I really would like to highlight the good work being done by the department. I don’t think that’s out in the public enough,” she said, “… to inform the public on issues, even things that are … future issues, beyond just responding to media, incidents and questions.”
Char also urged Logan to put the same effort into improving internal communications.
“That’s just one of the aspects of this job. You are a spokesperson for the department. You are here to provide us with information and to provide us all with comfort and the ability to realize that law enforcement is handling things and we’re all feeling safe,” Commission Chair Doug Chin said. “I appreciate that you are taking our input to heart. … It’s not just how you speak to the outside but it’s also how you are connecting with all the people in this department.”
Logan thanked the commissioners for their feedback Wednesday and said he takes it all as constructive.
He acknowledged the need to develop HPD’s public information apparatus and pledged to launch strategic communications and proactively tell the department’s story.
“There are some things we’re sustaining. … I think that external communication with our partners in law enforcement and the community are what we want to sustain,” said Logan, who wants to set three priorities for next year.
“Our recruiting, again, is number one. … Number two is reducing the violent crime that we have ongoing, and all crime in general but I want to focus on violent crime,” Logan said. “And number three is improving the morale and some of the negative culture that is ingrained in the department.”
