Honolulu is looking for its 10th police chief after the Honolulu Police Commission voted unanimously yesterday to end Boisse P. Correa's contract when it expires in August.

Correa, 63, who took control of the state's largest law enforcement organization in August 2004, had asked to stay on the job for another year. He remains chief until Aug. 27.

The search for Correa's successor begins immediately. The new chief will be selected from a nationwide search that will involve a written exam, series of interviews and how the candidate performs while managing a mock disaster.

Correa is serving out the final months of a five-year contract that currently pays $136,000 a year.

Commissioners, who voted 7-0, decided that they could not keep Correa on unless he was willing to serve another full five-year term, which they said is required by the city charter. Given declining tax revenues and shrinking operating budgets for city departments, the commission said it wanted someone who could commit to a five-year strategic financial plan.

"We want to thank Chief Correa for his 39 years of service. Under his leadership the Honolulu Police Department has excelled. The charter requires appointment of a chief for five years. Our collective judgment is that Chief Correa will not fulfill a five-year term," said Christine H. H. Camp, chairwoman of the commission.

"The commission feels that it is in the best interest of the department and the community to fulfill the intent of the charter by seeking a new leader at this time."

Correa had said he still had a passion for the job and wanted to continue as chief. He said the commission's decision was neither merit-based nor dependent on the city charter.

"I want to set the record straight (about this process) ... this has not been about one year or five years. It's about the commission wants another chief and that's their prerogative," Correa told reporters after receiving the commission's decision.

"I'm going to miss the department, I'm going to miss this, but I'm always going to be involved in public service."

SHOPO CONFLICT

The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers had asked the police commission in April to end Correa's tenure.

SHOPO officials had long categorized Correa as an authoritarian leader who did not welcome input from the rank and file. They denounced his discipline policies and accused him of bullying subordinates into decisions.

Correa always maintained that he respected his officers but had to make decisions that put public safety first.

"We've said all along that we didn't want his contract continued. This isn't personal, it's just business," said Tenari R. Maafala, SHOPO president. "Chief Correa is a great person, but we've long disagreed with his style of administration."

SUCCESSFUL TENURE

Mayor Mufi Hannemann thanked Correa for his service yesterday and said he is confident the police commission will find a worthy replacement.

"Boisse Correa did an outstanding job as Honolulu police chief," Hannemann said. "From what I understand, the police commission was looking for a five-year commitment and Chief Correa was unable to commit to that. The police commission acted appropriately and an exemplary replacement will be selected."

Correa was recently given high marks during his annual evaluation for his efforts leading to Honolulu's crime rate hitting a 35-year low last year.

Under Correa's watch, crime in Honolulu fell to its lowest point since the mid-1970s, falling for the fourth consecutive year. Violent crime decreased, and drug and drunken-driving arrests rose as Correa put more officers on the street. Patrol beats are staffed at their highest level in a decade and the department has earned international accreditation. Correa also expanded the department's community relations section and put officers on call 24/7 to respond to media requests.

But twice, he has been the subject of surveys by the police union, and each time the majority of responding officers were critical of his leadership style. The first SHOPO commissioned survey came in December 2005, showing 76.1 percent of respondents agreed that Correa "never or almost never communicates accurately or precisely," 73.7 percent stated Correa "never or almost never works well with line officers toward common goals" and 78 percent said morale was so low they wished they had a different police chief.

Shortly after the 2005 survey, Correa did away with three-days-a-week, 12-hours-a-day work schedules. Officers upset over the move argued that it prevented them from working special duty jobs or seeking other employment to supplement their income.

Correa contended a five-day work week provided greater continuity for investigations and better served the needs of the public.

CULTURE CHANGE

In 2006 Correa was forced to deal with a small cadre of Honolulu police officers who abused their powers to protect an illegal gambling business and in the process became part of a criminal saga that led to federal charges against more than 35 people — including five former officers who were eventually found guilty.

In response, Correa expanded the ranks of the Internal Affairs division to include a Quality Assurance Division that worked to ensure compliance with the department's code of conduct.

After the FBI turned over thousands of pages of transcripts from wiretapped conversations, HPD launched a massive internal investigation and disciplined an unknown number of officers. Every officer whose name was mentioned or who showed up in the wiretapped conversations was interviewed by HPD investigators.

The tightening of disciplinary standards did not endear Correa with SHOPO.

Last year, SHOPO filed a prohibitive practices complaint with the state Labor Commission over allegations that Correa's administration was unfairly disciplining officers without due process.

The administration disputes the allegations and the complaint is pending.

HEALTH BATTLES

Correa battled back problems while in office that eventually landed him in the hospital on Oct. 18, 2007. The injury and subsequent surgeries caused Correa to miss more than three months of work and his lack of transparency about his injury led to a public rebuke by Hannemann and the police commission.

Correa, a 1964 graduate of Kalani High School, joined the department in April 1970 and has been a supervisor or commander of every division except finance and records.

He was promoted to assistant chief in 1998, and headed security for the Asian Development Bank conference in 2001.