Restoring the public’s trust in the office, investigating police shootings and clearing the cases of a former employee convicted of federal crimes are just a few of the many priorities being addressed during the first 100 days of city Prosecuting Attorney Steven S. Alm’s first term.

During an information- packed briefing for reporters, Alm ran through more than 10 areas of focus that his team is executing as part of his plan to change the way the office does business. The efforts are in part intended to clear the cloud created by the conviction of former Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha on charges of conspiracy, obstruction, fraud and identity theft and the ongoing federal probe of former Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro.

“My most important goal in running for Honolulu prosecutor and becoming Honolulu prosecutor is restoring trust to this office, “ said Alm, speaking at the prosecuting attorney’s Richards Street headquarters.

Alm led off with the announcement that two teams of city prosecutors and investigators will indepen­dently review the fatal police shootings of Iremamber Sykap, 16, and Lindani Myeni, 29.

Prosecutors with experience in the state and federal criminal justice system will review the evidence turned over by the Honolulu Police Department, including body camera footage of the shootings. They may interview or re-interview witnesses, collect evidence and do whatever is necessary to complete an independent review of HPD’s findings.

None of the evidence, including the body cam footage, will be made public as part of an effort not to taint a prospective jury pool, Alm said, and his office will not publicly discuss any aspect of the inquires into each shooting prior to their conclusion.

“This is a new administration, and we are looking at all of the practices and procedures and we are going to do things differently,” Alm said. “Whenever you have a agency that is involved in the shooting and then responsible for investigating that shooting, you are always going to have the perception among some that it is not appropriate and that their final conclusions and recommendations may be suspect. I believe it is critical to have an independent but thorough, objective investigation into both of these cases and for any future police-involved shootings of civilians.”

Ideally, a third-party review board not beholden to any law enforcement agency or entity and staffed with investigators up to date on the latest techniques and procedures would be responsible for investigating police shootings, but Hawaii does not have any such body, Alm said. Prior to the procedural change, prosecutors would review evidence collected by HPD and make a recommendation.

That process usually took more than a year, a timetable Alm aims to reduce.

Sykap was shot and killed April 5 after he allegedly drove a stolen Honda Civic at police officers on Kala­kaua Avenue following a crime spree. Myeni was shot during a fight that left three officers seriously injured after they responded to a 911 call of a burglary in Nuuanu.

The shootings came after HPD issued revisions to their use-of-force policy April 1. Myeni’s widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the three officers and the city.

The prosecutor’s probes of both shootings started recently, Alm said. There is no timetable for completion.

“The Honolulu Police Department shares the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney’s commitment to conducting thorough, fair investigations into officer-involved shootings and will continue to cooperate with DPA investigators,” said Acting Honolulu Police Chief Aaron Takasaki-Young. “We hope to have the opportunity to discuss the proposed changes with the DPA and his staff.”

Randall Lee, an attorney and retired Circuit Court judge who teaches criminal justice at Hawaii Pacific University, said that historically, prosecutors have fairly handled reviews of police shootings.

“It is always beneficial to have police shootings investigated as quickly as possible with transparent resolution. I am confident that the prosecutors would do a thorough and fair investigation,” Lee told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “However, because the police have a close working relationship with the prosecutors, the public may still be skeptical of the investigation and/or resolution.”

A management audit of Kealoha’s cases is being led by First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tom Brady, who joined the office after 23 years as an assistant U.S. Attorney, and Special Prosecution Division Chief Chris Van Marter, who specializes in white-collar criminal cases.

They are looking at Kea­loha’s work and ensuring that cases she was involved in were handled appropriately.

“We have no interest in people being unlawfully convicted,” Alm said.

To date, no attorney has come forward asking to overturn any conviction resulting from a case that Kea­loha was involved in.

The office implemented a number of conflict-of- interest policies and created a written form that is used by all prosecutors handling felony cases. A policy for handling internal complaints is being drafted, he said.

To deal with a backlog of impaired-driving cases caused by the closure of the courts due to COVID-19 safety measures, the prosecutor’s office came up with a compromise for first-time offenders, available through May 31.

Defendants who qualify for and accept the deal must change their plea by June 30. They will receive a deferral for one year, plead to reckless driving, take a 14-hour alcohol assessment class, enroll in a substance abuse treatment program, pay a $1,000 fine or serve 72 hours of community service, make appropriate restitution and install an ignition interlock device in their car for one year.

So far, 1,013 first-time offenders have taken the deal, saving a substantial number of cases from being dismissed, Alm said.