Surrounded by family, friends, DOCARE leadership and academy instructors, each new DOCARE officer received a graduation certificate and was pinned with the official DOCARE badge at the Hawaii Convention Center.

What You Need To Know

  • Hawaii Island, Maui Nui and Oahu will each have seven DOCARE officers with four going to Kauai

One of the newly commissioned officers, Zane Dela Cruz, will be assigned to his island home of Lanai, joining another recruit and two officers already on-island.

Former state game warden Albert Morita, referred to as “Uncle Al” by Dela Cruz, pinned the DOCARE badge on Dela Cruz’ uniform. Dela Cruz said he grew up with Morita as the game warden and that he did not always interact with Morita in the “best manner.”

“He’s always been someone I’ve looked up to,” said Dela Cruz in a news release. “He was very fair and consistent in how he performed his job. He’s a good man and I’m very proud to follow in his footsteps.”

Hawaii Island, Maui Nui and Oahu will each have seven DOCARE officers, with four going to Kauai.

Guest speakers at the ceremony included former Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona, a retired judge who provided courtroom instruction for the class, and UH Richardson School of Law Dean Emerita Denise Antolini.

“I think we as a community, we as supporters of them and holding them accountable need to make sure they keep doing what they do without looking at those challenges,” Aiona said. According to the release, the primary challenge Aiona cited is the fact that DOCARE and other law enforcement agencies don’t have all the resources they may need to effectively carry out their missions.

Antolini told the recruits, “I don’t think we had any idea in August 2017 how this would far exceed our expectations, and this is the embodiment of that dream.”

DLNR First Deputy Ryan Kanakaʻole added, “The job you have is very heavy, it’s challenging, it’s indispensable. Without a working enforcement arm, our department is toothless, it is ineffective, we fail at our mission. I think I speak for everyone at DLNR, when I say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your service.”

DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla provided a reminder to the newly commissioned officers. “As a civil servant, your job is to serve our fellow citizens and visitors alike,” said Redulla. “It is important you recognize that while you may have a formal chain of command of people who are your bosses, the taxpayers of the State of Hawaii are your bosses, too.”