HONOLULU (KHON2) — Honolulu police are rolling out big new bonuses — up to $2,000 per month for some — to keep 911 operators on the job in the hopes of solving a growing staffing issue.

House Rep. Darius Kila recently paid a visit to the Joint Traffic Management Center after dealing with and hearing complaints over long wait times for non-emergency calls.

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“Sometimes upwards of 20 minutes, just trying to get through dispatch. I understand they’re working through priority calls,” Rep. Kila said. “When I’m calling, it’s either somebody that somebody is complaining to us about enforcing park closure hours or an abandoned vehicle. Obviously, these things constitute as non-emergency, but when they’re being put on hold, it kind of quantifies the feeling that nobody’s listening.”

The president of the police union said a shortage in the 911 workforce is well known.

“A shortage of dispatchers is a dangerous situation for the public, for the department and for the officers out there. They literally are the lifeline between a single police officer trying to handle a call and all of the other police officers in that district,” SHOPO president Nicholas Schlapak said.

A new HPD program to give dispatchers monthly retention bonuses for current and future employees aims to alleviate the issue.

Each month, emergency response operators will earn an extra $500, call takers will receive an extra $1,000, and that jumps to $2,000 for radio operators.

“So, by providing these retention bonuses, we’re trying to hang on to these individuals as long as possible, too. And then also the, you know, at the same time, we want to appreciate our employees for doing a great job,” said HPD Communications Division Maj. Calvin Sung.

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All eligible employees will receive incentive pay of an extra $2 per hour in addition to the bonuses.

“I feel that the money is very well earned, and it’s a good incentive not only for the few dispatchers that they do have, but the people who are actually interested in taking the job because it’s a difficult one,” Schlapak said.

The program is currently funded through June 2026, and police aim to extend it during the next fiscal year.

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