For his diligent efforts in a theft investigation, Patrol Officer Dallas Arce was recognized by the Kona Crime Prevention Committee as Officer of the Month for November 2022 during an awards ceremony at Huggo’s on the Rocks in Kona on Wednesday, November 2, 2022.

On April 4, 2022, Officer Arce responded to a reported car break-in at Kekaha Kai State Park in Kailua-Kona, in which the victim reported that an unknown person(s) entered his parked rental vehicle and removed two laptops and his wallet containing credit cards.

While Officer Arce was at the scene, the victim was able to look up the credit card activity and noticed that the cards were being used at several stores at a shopping center in Waikoloa Beach Resort.

While conducting a follow-up investigation at the shopping center later the same day, Officer Arce reviewed video surveillance footage and was able to identify the suspect from past police contact. He generated a photo lineup and showed it to the employees who positively identified the suspect.

Determined to solve the crime and knowing that time was of the essence, Officer Arce worked on his day off the next day to track down the suspect. Through Officer Arce’s thorough investigation he was able to locate and arrest the suspect. After Officer Arce advised the suspect of his rights, the suspect implicated a second individual in the crimes and that second suspect was subsequently arrested.

The first suspect was charged  with first-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, ID theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, second-degree theft, third-degree theft , and fourth-degree theft.

The second suspect was charged with first-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, ID theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, theft of a credit card, and second-degree theft.

Officer Arce has proven to be an asset to the Hawai‘i Police Department and the community he serves. This is the second time this year Officer Arce received the Officer of the Month award. A few weeks after working on this investigation, Officer Arce transferred to the Puna District. In June 2022, Officer Arce’s quick action using Narcan revived an unresponsive woman. He received the Officer of the Month award for October 2022 from the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawai‘i for his life-saving efforts in that incident.

Every month the Kona Crime Prevention Committee honors a police officer in west Hawai‘i as their Officer of the Month. Officers are nominated by their supervisors from the various police districts and a winner is selected by the KCPC board of directors. All officers selected for Officer of the Month are eligible to be selected as the Kona Crime Prevention Committee’s Officer of the Year.