The management of confidential documents
protects individuals’ privacy and safety
while facilitating the availability of information to the public.
DEFINITION

Confidential document: Any departmental
information recorded on paper, film, or
other medium that is restricted under the
provisions of the Uniform Information
Practices Act (UIPA), Chapter 92F, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS).

A. In general, information about
personnel, active investigations, or
internal organizational procedures is most likely to be restricted.

B. In particular, the following kinds
of documents are to be regarded as confidential:

1. Personnel orders;

2. Personnel documents reflecting an
individual’s medical or psychiatric history,
pay, and employment qualifications and evaluations;

3. Documents of any kind in active investigations; and

4. Departmental or element directives and training materials.

This list provides only examples of confidential
documents; it is not intended to be a complete list of such documents.
DATA AND WORD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

Element commanders are responsible for the proper
care and use of the data and word processing
equipment installed in their commands.

A. No one shall operate such equipment without proper training.

B. Such equipment shall be used only for departmental business.

C. No one shall attempt to operate departmental
data or word processing equipment (terminals, printers,
etc.) without the explicit approval of the element
commander responsible for the security of the equipment.

OFFICIAL POLICE RECORDS AND FILES

A. Access

Access to official police records and files
is normally limited to authorized personnel
assigned to the element in which the records
or files are maintained. Other personnel must
obtain the permission of the element commander
or a designee before being granted access to the records or files.

1. Information contained in the Case
Report System (CRS) or Paper Management (PM)
and related files is confidential and may be
used only for departmental business.

2. Additions, deletions, and any other
changes to the CRS and PM and related files
shall be made only by authorized personnel
in the Records and Identification Division.

3. Requests for additions, deletions, or any
other changes to user access in the CRS or PM
shall be submitted via the HPD Security Access
Request e-form. Changes to users or user access
shall be completed by authorized personnel of
the ITD.

B. Release of Confidential Documents

Care must be taken to ensure that confidential
documents are not released to unauthorized
recipients. Confidential documents are not to
be released to anyone outside of the department
without appropriate authorization and safeguards to protect the contents.

1. When confidential documents are routinely
transmitted to other government agencies for
departmental purposes (e.g., personnel documents
to the Department of Human Resources, investigative
documents to the prosecutor, or directives to other
law enforcement agencies), the confidentiality of
the information is routinely ensured by the receiving
agency and no special precautions are necessary.

2. When documents are provided to others
outside of the normal range of governmental users,
there are risks of compromise because:

a. The recipient is not authorized to receive
the document and it is used for an unauthorized purpose; or

b. The recipient (e.g., a governmental agency)
is authorized to receive the document but transmits
it to another who uses it for an unauthorized purpose.
In this case, the original recipient may be unaware
of the need to restrict the information in the document.

3. Except for documents furnished in accordance
with signed court orders and subpoenas duces tecum,
an element shall not release confidential documents
to anyone outside of the normal range of governmental
users without the authorization of the element’s bureau chief.

a. When confidential documents are released
to anyone outside of the normal range of governmental
users, each one shall bear a Confidential Cover Sheet,
HPD-190 form. The releasing element shall fill in
the information on the form before turning the document
over to the recipient.

b. The releasing element shall also require the
recipient to sign a Property Receipt,
HPD-83 form.

c. The element shall retain the cover sheet and
the property receipt for three years before destruction.

4. Penalties

Personnel who violate the confidentiality of documents
protected by the UIPA are subject to administrative as
well as criminal penalties.

C. Retention and Storage Via PM

Departmental documents (e.g., police reports,
temporary restraining orders, geographical restrictions,
and sex offender files) are either scanned into the
PM or entered via the CRS, after which the information
cannot be altered. Any document generated from the
system is admissible in both criminal and civil court
proceedings and is considered an “original document.”
Some older documents have been preserved on microfilm.

1. All information contained in the PM is official
and confidential and may only be used for authorized
departmental purposes.

2. Access to information stored in the system
is limited to personnel who have been authorized by
the commander of the Records and Identification Division or a designee.

a. Employees shall not access the system from
any computer using another employee’s password.

b. If they have reason to believe that the
secrecy of their assigned password has been
compromised, employees shall ensure that their
passwords are changed.

3. Personnel shall not connect or attempt
to connect any personally owned hardware or
software equipment or any other device to the PM.

4. The commander of the Records and
Identification Division shall determine
which documents will be stored as either
confidential or encrypted- security status.
Personnel shall not access images classified
as confidential or encrypted-security
unless authorized by the commander of the
Records and Identification Division.

5. Personnel who print documents from
the PM shall be responsible for the security
of the information contained therein.

D. Disposal and Destruction

1. Elements seeking authorization to
destroy any official police records or files
shall first check the retention schedule.

2. Documents may be destroyed after
microfilming or document imaging and validating
the imaged copy. Destruction of major, unsolved
crimes and missing person reports must be
authorized by the Chief of Police or designee,
carried out in accordance with the law, and
supervised by the commander of the Records and
Identification Division or a designee.

3. Printed and written materials that
are not confidential shall be disposed of
in the normal manner by each element in
accordance with applicable recycling laws.

4. Elements are responsible for making
their own arrangements to properly dispose
of their confidential materials and retaining
all receipts necessary for documentation and accountability.
ADDITIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION

See Policy 8.20, COMPUTER SECURITY, for
information concerning the security of computerized data and files.