The Honolulu Police Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to turn its search for a new police chief over to a consultant who can help commissioners pick a candidate to best fit the department.

Commissioners agreed to send out requests for proposals as soon as they can pull together basic details for potential applicants to consider, including what the panel is looking for in a new chief. That likely won’t be for another few weeks and then months after that for a consultant to bring in candidates, they said.

Commissioners are mindful of public criticism that the last search in 2021 took nearly a year. Current Chief Joe Logan was hired in May 2022.

Still, commissioners agreed that the job of Honolulu police chief is important enough that they didn’t feel comfortable trying to screen applicants and assess their viability themselves.

Chairman Ken Silva also reported that he and vice chair Laurie Foster have been investigating possible search firms and meeting with city officials and were convinced the city human resources staff doesn’t have the level of expertise to do the hiring.

Silva said Wednesday the Honolulu Police Department confirmed it has the money to pay for a search although the cost hasn’t been determined. In 2021, the commission paid PSI Services more than $145,000 to conduct the search.

Commissioner Ann Botticelli urged the commission to move forward with at least getting the process started by deciding whether to hire a consultant.

“I think with it being such an important job and such an important responsibility” hiring a firm that has experience in law enforcement recruiting is essential, she said.

Commissioner Doug Chin said he believes the Honolulu police chief is one of the top five public service jobs in the state.

“It’s that important,” he said. “It would be a disservice if we did it on our own.”

Interim Police Chief Rade Vanic, who has already taken over for Logan even though Logan isn’t officially leaving til Aug. 1, said Honolulu is one of the largest departments in the country, whether ranked by the number of uniformed officers, the geographic size of the area it serves or its $380 million annual budget.

Commissioners said they’ve been told to expect dozens of applicants, although probably not the hundreds of candidates they’ve received in prior searches.