When the Honolulu Police Commission gave high marks recently in its review of Police Chief Boisse Correa, it was expected. The commission wasn't about to knock its very own hire.

But a new survey of the men and women under Correa's command gives him marks that reveal a different picture.

If the survey is to be believed, the Honolulu police force appears to be one of the biggest dysfunctional families on O'ahu.

What else can be concluded when more than three-quarters of respondents in a police union survey contend the chief "never communicates accurately or precisely," and almost an equal number say the chief "never or almost never works well with line officers toward common goals"?

Of course, when do the rank-and-file ever love their boss, especially in a military-style bureaucracy?

The survey also must be questioned.

Sponsored by the police union, it's hardly an independent poll without an obvious bias.

The survey also drew response from just 56.8 percent of the force, or 1,068 officers. By their nature, the unhappy are more likely to respond than the satisfied.

So it's not perfect.

But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be taken seriously, especially when more than 78 percent indicated morale was so low they wanted a different chief.

Correa was defensive in a written published statement, choosing to criticize the survey's technique rather than acknowledge there might be any truth behind it.

Surely, both Correa and the commissioners who hired him must understand that there is enough in the poll to indicate a confidence gap that must be addressed.

Family counseling? Something is needed to make sure there's at least better two-way communication between the chief and his charges.

Honolulu residents deserve a police force that acts as one unit.

Dysfunctionality makes for great soap opera drama on TV. But it doesn't make for an effective, modern big-city police department.