Ige Signs Bill Establishing New Department of Law Enforcement

Gov. David Ige today, Friday, June 8, signed HB2171 establishing a new Division of Regulation Enforcement. The previous time a new department was fashioned in the state was more than 30 decades ago, in 1989, with the creation of the Office of General public Safety.

View the online video of the signing in this article.

The new DLE incorporates the Department of Public Safety’s Legislation Enforcement Division (State Sheriff Division and Narcotics Enforcement Division) and Inside Affairs Business office, Section of Transportation Harbors Division and the Division of the Lawyer General’s Prison Investigative Division. The new division will also involve the Division of Defense Office of Homeland Protection, and the Hawaiʻi State Fusion Middle.

“Hawaiʻi is the only condition in the country that doesn’t have a centralized, unbiased point out regulation enforcement agency. The new department will enable extra efficient and successful crisis response, criminal law enforcement, investigations and homeland security operations,” Ige mentioned in a information launch on Friday.

“The consolidation will centralize command and handle for the State’s essential incident administration, make improvements to interoperable communications, and the skill to cope with intricate multi-island investigations and make improvements to general efficiency of statewide law enforcement functions. The new DLE will also be capable to give extra means for other law enforcement companies in both impartial and joint operations,” included Jordan Lowe, PSD Deputy Director for Law Enforcement.

The projected timeline for the changeover is as follows:

July 1, 2022 – Transition workforce starts implementation and creation of framework and infrastructure for the new DLE.

July 1, 2023 – Administrative infrastructure is recognized in the DLE. The course of action to start filling all allocated positions starts.

January 1, 2024 – Transfer of Office of the Attorney Normal non-statutorily mandated investigative capabilities and connected staff members, Department of Transportation Harbors Division legal law enforcement capabilities and linked staff, and Office of Protection Office environment of Homeland Security, to involve the Hawaiʻi Condition Fusion Center.

January 1, 2024 – The Division of Public Security renamed to Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR). Both of those departments come to be impartial and absolutely operational.

“The Department of Public Protection corrections and regulation enforcement divisions have distinctly diverse and special missions. The moment the conversion of Community Basic safety to the Section of Corrections and Rehabilitation is entire, the Department will be able to target on a one mission to administer the corrections, rehabilitation, and reentry of the inmate population,” reported Max Otani, PSD director.

“We want to thank everybody included in this past Legislative session who contributed to this momentous accomplishment to get this monthly bill passed, producing our new Point out Office of Regulation Enforcement,” included Point out Sheriff William “Billy” Oku Jr. “It would just take a week or extended to name absolutely everyone, but we want to thank the quite a few men and women in just the Division of Public Protection Sheriff Division who came collectively to craft the monthly bill, alongside with all of the legislation enforcement organizations that threw their assistance guiding it, and the lawmakers who observed the great importance and handed it. We couldn’t have finished it devoid of everyone’s tough function and assistance.”