The 17 cadets who make up the Honolulu Police Department's 163rd recruit class that is graduating tomorrow night may be the last infusion of new officers HPD gets in a while.

Recruitment of new officers has stopped, and no new training classes are scheduled because of a citywide hiring freeze implemented last fall as a fiscal belt-tightening measure, HPD officials said.

Police Chief Boisse Correa said current staffing is fine, but that a long-term delay in recruitment and hiring would cause "major concerns" both for him and for his successor.

Correa's contract is up in August and the Police Commission chose not to give him a new one, opting instead to hire a new chief.

The situation arises as HPD is recovering from a yearslong shortage of officers caused largely by the heavy recruitment efforts of Mainland law enforcement agencies and a wave of retirements.

Correa said that, factoring in the 17 graduates, there are 42 vacancies out of 2,143 authorized positions, a vacancy rate of just under 2 percent.

He stressed that public safety is not a concern for now.

"We usually operate anywhere between 100 and 150 vacancies a year," he said. "With 42, we can absorb that. It's just over a period of time, when we hit the end of this year, and we may have 100 to 150, and then we go into next year, that's when it's going to be a challenge for us and maybe a situation we have to look at."

In April 2007, HPD reported 233 vacancies out of 2,112 positions, or 11 percent. In June 2002, there were 264 vacancies out of 2,056 positions, or 13 percent.

HPD typically sees 150 officers leave in any given year, about 50 due to retirement, the chief said.

To keep up with those losses, the department typically graduates three to four classes of 50 to 60 people each year, depending on need.

10-MONTH PROCESS

The class being sworn in tomorrow began with 30 candidates, HPD said.

It takes about 10 months from the start of recruitment to the time a cadet graduates and is on the streets.

"So when you stop the process, it sets everything back," Correa said.

Correa said he doesn't blame the city.

"It can't be helped at this point because there is no money," he said.

He would not say how many vacancies would alarm him, calling it a matter of the quality of officers, not quantity.

HPD has applied for and is hoping to receive federal funding for up to 150 additional positions through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal economic stimulus package, Correa said.

"We're not sure how many positions are going to be given to us because the competition is great," he said, adding that whether HPD gets any funding may not be known until October.

"But we're not going to get the 150; we'll be lucky to get half that amount."

Deputy Managing Director Trudi Saito said in a statement that "there was no specific hiring freeze applied" to the department.

"In order to cut costs, HPD offered to delay filling one recruit class while applying for a federal grant," Saito said. "This is a great example of HPD administrators being creative and looking for alternatives to address a tough financial situation, without compromising public safety."

Correa said the department in January asked for and received permission to proceed with the recruit class and also to promote nine people to sergeant.

He said that unlike during the period of major shortages, there is now a waiting list of 400 people trying to get into the department.

"So it's not a matter of getting people to come in, it's a matter of do we have the funding and authorization to fill these positions," the chief said.

COUNCIL CONCERNS

City Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz, who heads the council's Public Safety and Services Committee, said he was "unhappy and concerned" that there are no police recruit classes in the pipeline and added that he intends to have the issue discussed at an upcoming committee meeting.

"I don't think it serves the public's interest," Dela Cruz said. "I think we need to go back to the drawing board and see how we can continue the classes."

Even with the officer shortage easing, police officers will continue to retire or leave the department, Dela Cruz said.

"We need to continue recruiting good and qualified police officers."

Capt. Terry Seelig, a spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department, said a recruit class of about 25 is expected to begin in September.

"We're planning to have another class when the need arises," he said.

HFD has about 1,100 positions, about 50 of which are vacant at any one time, Seelig said.

Bryan Cheplic, a spokesman for the city Department of Emergency Services, said a class for about 25 incoming emergency management technicians is scheduled to begin in August.

Out of approximately 200 EMS personnel, five to seven leave annually, he said.

The Honolulu City Council earlier this month approved a $1.8 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. While an increase in residential property tax rates is planned to make up for declining revenues, the budget is less than half a percent larger than the current year's spending plan.