Airport’s low crime level reflects team effort, state says

A 23-year-old man, presumably about to board a flight at Honolulu International Airport, reported being robbed by another man carrying a “sharp instrument” as he was outside the terminal.

The suspect fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to airport records of the October incident.

The victim, who subsequently recounted the incident to authorities while at an airline ticket counter, initially planned to pursue charges, then changed his mind.

The alleged robbery was just one of nearly 7,000 incidents — most were far less serious — that sheriff’s deputies responded to over the past three years at the airport, according to Department of Public Safety documents.

For a facility that serves roughly 20 million passengers per year, handles more than 300,000 landings and takeoffs annually, is the workplace for 23,000 public- and private- sector employees and encompasses an area larger than Waikiki, the range of reported incidents isn’t all that surprising.

The airport, in one sense, is like a small town, with all the trappings of one.

People get sick or injured. Motorists are ticketed for traffic or parking infractions. Cars are towed. Weapons are confiscated, drugs are seized and authorities deal with thefts, arrest warrants and numerous other incidents.

Airport security attracted international attention in March when an armed private security officer shot and killed a pet dog that had broken free from its owner.

Securitas Security Services USA, which is the main security contractor for the state’s airports, has said the pit bull lunged at its officer, who fired a single shot in self defense. The dog owner disputed the company’s version of what happened.

With its large presence at the airport, Securitas often is the first to respond to an incident. Its armed personnel wear garb with “airport police” labels. If the case involves a crime, it typically is turned over to DPS’s sheriff division, which has about 60 positions at the airport.

Only two robberies were reported over the past three years, and one occurred off airport grounds, according to DPS.

“The low amount of criminal activity and incidents is reflective of the positive and effective job done by the law enforcement team,” said Tim Sakahara, a state Department of Transportation spokesman, in a statement. “We are thankful there has not been a major catastrophic incident that has impacted our facilities for any extended period of time.”

DOT oversees Hawaii’s airports.

The vast majority of incidents at the Honolulu facility do not attract much attention.

By far the most common, according to the records, are reports of lost property.

From 2014 through 2016, sheriff deputies responded to more than 1,700 such incidents.

While the airport may be a good place to lose something, it’s not a good place to get lost in the crowd, especially for those wanted by the law.

The second most common incident reported over the past three years was arrests of people wanted on warrants. Deputies responded to about 760 such cases.

Among other incidents in the top 10 were injuries, thefts, property damage, deadly weapons, drugs and abandoned or towed vehicles.

While sheriff’s deputies responded to an average of about 2,800 criminal and noncriminal incidents at the Honolulu facility in each of the past three years, the neighbor island airports, which handle much less passenger traffic, generated far fewer calls.

County police responded, for instance, to an average of about 525 incidents in each of the past three years at Kahului, 25 at Kona and 43 at Lihue, according to police data.

Because Honolulu and Maui are the state’s two busiest airports, it makes sense statistically that those two have the most incidents, and they also have a higher number of dedicated security on site, according to DOT’s Sakahara.

The state recently decided to rename Hawaii’s largest airport the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. But until a formal name-changing ceremony around Memorial Day, the department will continue to refer to it as the Honolulu International Airport, according to Sakahara.