KAILUA-KONA — Steady can be far more valuable than splashy.
It isn’t always the high-speed chases or wild foot pursuits that end in arrests that earn an officer an outstanding reputation among his or her peers.
Often — as is the case with Officer Adam Roberg — it’s going above and beyond and doing the job consistently well that earns the utmost respect in law enforcement.
“… Officer Roberg draws attention for his high quality of work over a sustained period of time, essentially every day he shows up to work,” said Kona Crime Prevention Committee board director Kim Taniyama.
Roberg, 32, was named Officer of the Year by the crime prevention committee Wednesday during an awards luncheon at the Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel.
Roberg was honored along with nine other officers who were named Officer of the Month between July 2017 and June 2018. The two-time Officer of the Month during that time frame was selected for his thoroughly diligent work.
“It’s a fantastic community,” Roberg said after the ceremony. “It’s a fantastic department. It’s everything that aloha is supposed to be, and when we all work together, it’s even better.”
According to a summary, Roberg in the first quarter of 2018 led his watch in the number of cases initiated and arrests made, including six arrests for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant.
Roberg, originally from Maine, transferred to the Hawaii Police Department in March 2014 from Honolulu, where he was named Metropolitan Police Officer of the Year in 2013.
He was with the Kona Patrol from March 2014-April 2018, and has been part of the South Kohala patrol since.
Roberg was honored in July 2017 as Officer of the Month because of his “consistently high quality of work over a sustained period of time,” Taniyama said.
Between May 2016 and May 2017, she noted, Roberg investigated more than 236 criminal incidents. That was on top of traffic investigations and other calls.
In total, Taniyama said, Roberg in those 12 months made 111 arrests, 38 of which were for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant.
She also noted Roberg’s stats are just part of a bigger picture, acknowledging the officer’s work ethic, attitude and initiative, all of which go to help other units in the department.
“Although the Officer of the Month nomination is historically focused on one particular above and beyond investigation,” stated a summary, “it is fact that Officer Roberg continually works above and beyond all the time in generating cases and making arrests. This fact cannot go unnoticed.”
Kona Crime Prevention Committee President Diane Blancett-Maddock said it’s important that the community take the time to honor those who serve it.
“Our officers don’t get enough recognition,” she said. “They’re part of our community; they’re part of our ohana, and we want them to know that we appreciate everything they do for us.”
Police Chief Paul Ferreira echoed the need to honor outstanding officers.
“It is only because of them that the police department shines,” he told the crowd. “It is only because of the officers that are out in the field, doing the work, doing the ground-pounding that makes this department what it is — your police department that is second-to-none in the state of Hawaii.”
Email Cameron Miculka at cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com.