HONOLULU (KHON2) -- The director of the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement told KHON2 that the harassment investigation within the Sheriff Division stemmed from alleged misconduct related to the training of recruits. Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHON's morning podcast, every morning at 8 The DLE director said some members of the recruit class that graduated in December, 2023 came forward in March, 2024 about alleged misconduct from their superiors during training. Nine individuals have been arrested, four have been arrested and director Jordan Lowe said all are not currently on the job. "All of the people that are being looked at, you know, have been placed on administrative leave with pay. Their police powers have been restricted," Lowe said. Three of the four who were arrested are facing allegations of racial harassment, something the Senate Public Safety Committee Chair said is unacceptable. Hawaii sheriff deputies arrested for alleged racial harassment "To hear that they have some that need lessons in not being bigots and racists, that is troublesome," Sen. Glenn Wakai said. Sheriffs were required to undergo online harassment training every other year, but things changed due to these recent incidents. "That's being required now for them to complete that within 30 days," Lowe said. Human resource experts said behavior that is perceived as harassments is often thought of as joking around by the person who is accused, but the workplace is not the right situation to make jokes about race, religion or sexuality. "I think the point is that there is no real joke in the workplace when the topic of the joke falls under any of the protected classes," Kumabe HR principal Marie Kumabe said. "Definitely not in the workplace." 3 different investigations ongoing in Hawaii Sheriffs dept. Director Lowe said he is looking to establish annual, in-person harassments training and officials will evaluate every field training officer to see if they should be reassigned -- which lawmakers on both sides of the isle agreed are good things. "We're not the mainland, and I don't think we should be taking things very sensitively. However, if it does make someone uncomfortable, you've crossed the line," said Rep. Diamond Garcia, a Republican who represents Varona Village, Ewa and Kapolei. "It's great that he's responded in the proper way, realized that there is a problem, didn't deny that he has a problem there, but is taking all the right measures in ensuring that this doesn't happen again," said Sen. Wakai, a Democrat who represents Kalihi, Mapunapuna and Salt Lake. Weird rescues, long-lost artifacts, check out Weird News here Director Lowe said the investigation is ongoing and he did not have a timeline for how long it will last.