HPD welcomes 13 new officers after recruit class ceremony

Thirteen new officers are now headed into service across Hawaii County after the Hawaii Police Department’s 104th recruit class recognition ceremony in Hilo on May 29, a small but important boost for a department trying to keep more officers moving into the field. HPD announced the class publicly on June 1 and said the recruits had been welcomed to serve Hawaii County.

The new officers arrive as HPD tries to shorten the path from application to patrol work. The department says it now operates continuous recruitment and has increased the number of recruit academies, starting a new class roughly every four months. Before that change, applicants could only apply twice a year during a ten-day application window, a process that limited how quickly the department could refill its ranks.

HPD is also using a pilot early-hire model that can extend job offers after background checks, polygraph testing, psychological screening and medical screening. Under that model, recruits officially begin their one-year probation when they start the academy, which ties the hiring process more closely to training and keeps the pipeline moving sooner.

The 13-officer class follows the 103rd recruit class, which was recognized on Jan. 28 in Hilo and produced four new officers. That class began training on April 1, 2025, completed academy instruction on Oct. 15, 2025, and then finished four months of field training. Interim Police Chief Reed Mahuna praised that class for its perseverance and framed its service in Hawaiian values including aloha, kuleana, pono and lokahi.

HPD’s recruit standards remain strict. Applicants must be at least 20 by the application deadline, be 21 by academy graduation and hold a valid Hawaii driver’s license or comparable license. Recruit graduations are typically invite-only ceremonies, with family members pinning badges on the new officers and recognition given for academic, firearms and physical-fitness performance.

The department’s long-running class numbering system shows how uneven the pipeline can be. The 94th class began training on June 1, 2021, with 32 recruits and graduated 21 officers, while the 62nd class graduated 14 officers in July 2003 after training that began in January. For Hawaii County, the 104th class is another step toward a steadier flow of new officers after years in which each graduating class has mattered to day-to-day coverage.