Gov. David Ige (D-Hawaii) recently signed House Bill 2171 into law, establishing a new Department of Law Enforcement (DLE) in the state for the first time in more than three decades.
The new department consists of six divisions, according to a news release from the governor’s office. These are the Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Law Enforcement Division (State Sheriff Division and Narcotics Enforcement Division) and Internal Affairs Office, the Department of Transportation Harbors Division, the Department of the Attorney General’s Criminal Investigative Division, the Department of Defense Office of Homeland Security, and the Hawai’i State Fusion Center.
“Hawai’i is the only state in the country that doesn’t have a centralized, independent state law enforcement agency,” Ige said in the news release. “The new department will allow more efficient and effective emergency response, criminal law enforcement, investigations, and homeland security operations.”
Jordan Lowe, DPS deputy director for law enforcement, spoke about other benefits that will occur for the state as a result of the creation of the DLE.
“The consolidation will centralize command and control for the state’s critical incident management, improve interoperable communications and the ability to handle complex multi-island investigations, and improve overall efficiency of statewide law enforcement operations," Lowe said. "The new DLE will also be able to provide additional resources for other law enforcement agencies in both independent and joint operations.”
The transition team was scheduled to start implementation and creation of the framework and infrastructure for the new DLE in early July, the news release noted. The DPS will be renamed the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) by January 2024. Both departments (DLE and DPS) will become independent and fully operational by then.