President-elect Donald Trump described himself as the “law-and-order” candidate during his campaign and promised to do things like expand the death penalty, deploy the National Guard to quell civil unrest and increase liability protections for police.

His pro-police, tough-on-crime stance is likely good news for morale and recruitment efforts, according to officials and experts. But civil rights activists fear that his policies could set back criminal justice reform efforts, and that his promise to deport undocumented immigrants could have a negative impact on public safety.

While many policing policies are decided at the state and county levels, Trump’s decisions could directly affect issues such as the availability of federal grant opportunities for local police departments, according to Jillian Snider, adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. His statements about police and criminal justice issues can also set the tone for the entire nation.

“Right now, police officers across the country are pretty disheartened, and we’ve seen recruitment and retention are suffering,” she said. “So I think having a president in place that vocally expresses his admiration and appreciation for law enforcement will be really good for the job on the whole.” 

Trump’s actions during his first term shed light on his attitude toward law enforcement. For example, he rescinded a President Barack Obama-era executive order prohibiting local police departments from acquiring military equipment and deployed soldiers to help local police quell protests.

Recruitment and Retention

In Trump’s “Plan to End Crime and Restore Law and Order” released in February 2023, the president-elect said he would invest in hiring, retention and training for police officers at record levels, though he didn’t specify how much he would invest or how he would impact hiring.

Members of his transition team did not respond to emails seeking comment for this story.

Honolulu police Chief Joe Logan has said recruitment is his top priority as the department suffers an ongoing staffing shortage and is down around 400 officers.

Snider, a retired New York City police officer, said it’s difficult to say if Trump’s administration will be able to help recruitment efforts, though she said his rhetoric and general attitude toward police could boost morale and interest in the profession. 

Since 2020, police staffing levels have dropped across the country, a phenomenon many law enforcement officials attribute in part to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the killing of George Floyd and ensuing Black Lives Matter movement, which increased public scrutiny of police actions. 

Last year, staffing levels for departments nationwide were up for the first time since 2020, though only by 0.4%, according to a survey by the Police Executive Research Forum.

The president can’t do much to directly impact recruitment at local levels, but, Snider said she expects Trump’s administration will be supportive of any legislative efforts to increase hiring. 

One bipartisan bill introduced in Congress last year, the VICTIM Act, would establish a grant program to help local jurisdictions with their clearance rates for violent crime by providing funds for them to hire more detectives and investigators, she said. 

The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, but Snider said she expects it to be reintroduced next session and it may advance if Trump supports it.

During the campaign, Trump was endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, one of the most influential law enforcement lobbies in the U.S. He responded by pledging strong support for police and expanded use of force. “We have to get back to power and respect,” he said in September.

The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers did not endorse a candidate for president.

Federal Grants

Local police departments receive millions of dollars each year in federal grants, and Snider said Trump’s administration is likely to impose more accountability over the process.

In fiscal year 2023, the Honolulu Police Department received around $7.7 million in federal grant money, including an $800,000 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant for a virtual reality training program on de-escalation.

Last fiscal year, agencies around the state, including county police departments and prosecutors offices, the state Attorney General’s Office, the Domestic Violence Action Center and the University of Hawaiʻi, received $19.8 million in federal justice grants for things like substance abuse treatment for prisoners, school violence programs and mentoring for children of incarcerated parents.

When asked at a December Honolulu Police Commission meeting how he thinks federal grants will be impacted under the new administration, Logan said he wasn’t sure because even though Trump seems to “friendly” toward law enforcement, the president-elect also places a strong emphasis on fiscal responsibility.

Trump has said he plans to create a Department of Government Efficiency headed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, founder of the pharmaceutical company, Roivant Sciences, to cut government spending and restructure federal agencies, including the Department of Justice. 

“I don’t think we’re going to see reduced funding for law enforcement, but I just think we’re going to see more accountability for the funding that law enforcement is provided with,” Snider said.

Immigrant Worries

The American Civil Liberties Union Hawaii said Trump’s promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants could push some further underground and prevent them from cooperating with police due to concern about themselves or family members.

Gov. Josh Green has said the state’s National Guard will not be used to help with federal deportations and has promised to do all he can to keep immigrant families in Hawaii together.

But still, the threats from the Trump administration alone can be enough to instill fear in people and drive them underground, said Carrie Ann Shirota, policy director for the ACLU of Hawaii.

“The idea about community policing is to build more trust with communities that often are the most under-resourced and more likely to be policed,” she said. “So these measures at the federal level undermine the very principals of community policing.”

Police Reform

Criminal justice reform advocates have also expressed concern about the potential impact of Trump’s support for policies like the death penalty, longer prison sentences for convicted criminals and stop and frisk, a police practice in which an officer can stop a person and pat them down if they suspect he or she is carrying a weapon.

Hawaiʻi abolished capital punishment in 1957, two years before statehood, but Hawaii residents convicted of federal crimes can still face the death penalty.

Trump has promised to expand certain rights for gun owners, for example passing a nationwide concealed carry reciprocity law that would allow gun owners with concealed carry permits to travel to every state, even those like Hawaiʻi that don’t honor out-of-state permits.

State Sen. Karl Rhoads, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he doesn’t know how much further the Trump administration will be willing to go. A 2022 Supreme Court ruling known as the Bruen decision already opened the door for Hawaii gun owners to be able to carry their weapons in public. More extreme laws that would weaken background checks and make it easier for people to buy guns would be extremely unpopular with a majority of Americans, he said.

“I don’t think he really wants to go any farther because it’s bad politics and it’s bad policy,” he said.

Members of the ACLU of Hawaii are worried Trump might rescind a 2022 executive order issued by President Joe Biden aimed at advancing accountability in policing and boosting public trust in police departments. The order includes mandates to increase use of force and implicit bias training for state and local departments and restricts law enforcement from buying certain types of military equipment, such as armored vehicles, weaponized drones and long-range acoustic devices.

Trump’s support of military gear for police departments as well as his use of soldiers to crack down on protesters during his first term, makes advocates nervous about the potential for police violence in the coming years, Shirota said.

“The use of military weapons and equipment can certainly increase excessive force outcomes and possibly even deadly outcomes,” she said.

A bill that would have prohibited police from acquiring military gear and using certain types of equipment, such as bean bag projectiles and tear gas, on protesters was introduced in the Hawaii Legislature in 2022. It was referred to the Judiciary Committee, but it didn’t advance.

Meanwhile, Trump’s own felony convictions could also undermine his purported commitment to uphold the rule of law, Rhoads said.

The Senate judiciary chair said he doesn’t know of any plans to reintroduce the military equipment bill in the upcoming session, or any other bills aimed at reducing the potential effects of future Trump policies. Lawmakers may be waiting to see what his first year back in office brings before figuring out what actions to take, he said.

“We don’t know what he’s going to do,” he said. “Some promises he keeps and some of them he doesn’t, and what the net effect is going to be for Hawaii and the country I just don’t know.”