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Cadet class (correction) 12-18-08

Hawaii Police Department
Administrative Services Division
Major Marshall Kanehailua
Phone: 961-2247
December 18, 2008

Media Release (correction)

When Lawrence K. Mahuna was appointed as chief of the Hawaii Police Department nearly six years ago, one of his objectives was to start a new police cadet program. Last week, Chief Mahuna presented certificates to four individuals who completed Phase 1 of the cadet class. 

The cadet program is for recent high school students who are interested in becoming a police officer but aren’t old enough to apply for the job, and for anyone else interested in pursuing a law enforcement career. The goal is to give the cadets the same training as police recruits get but at a slower pace. That way, they can make a transition into an abbreviated police recruit class when they reach age 21, the minimum age requirement for becoming a police officer. 

During a short ceremony on December 8, members of the Police Department’s 75th, 76th and 74th recruit classes looked on as Mahuna recognized Cadets Charmaine Sylva, Micah Stevens, Aaron Abalos and John Caudell. Three of the police recruits in the audience — Kenny Valdez, Donny Millet [corrected spelling] and Brandon Mansur — had been part of the cadet class until they left the program to become full police recruits. The four remaining cadets now go to Phase 2, which will meet four times a week. 

During their three-year cadet program, the cadets don’t carry guns or have arrest powers but they observe and participate in many different facets of police work and acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to become a police recruit. 

The cadets also have the chance to participate in the Police Department’s Police Cadet Tuition Reimbursement Program for completing classes at the University of Hawaii at Hilo or Hawaii Community College. The college experience will broaden their backgrounds, expand their academic skills and prepare them for future advancement in the Police Department. 

The first cadet class began on October 4, 2007. The cadets worked three hours per week the first year and will work up to 19 hours per week the second and third years, earning $18.45 an hour. 

The cadet program is a Police Department project in partnership with the Department of Human Resources, Hawaii Community College, the University of Hawaii at Hilo and the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers.