Waikiki too important to ignore law-breaking

Prior to retiring from the Honolulu Police Department at the end of 2012, I had the privilege of making a presentation at the "Waikiki 20/20 Conference — Looking Back at Looking Forward," which took place at the Hawaii Convention Center on Oct. 16, 2012.

The subject of my presentation was "Sidewalk Activities and Crime," and the recent Honolulu Star-Advertiser "Waikiki Crackdown" story prompts me to share some of what I shared then.

The police department is the tip of the spear in helping to make the future Waikiki the safest place to live, work and play. One of eight patrol districts on Oahu, District 6-Waiki-ki is unlike any other because of its vital importance to the visitor industry. The importance of delivering excellent police services in Waikiki cannot be overstated.

While the homeless population in Waikiki presents myriad challenges, the focus should be on several constant problems that if not addressed consistently will undoubtedly result in the need for a "crackdown" or "sweep." These problems include sidewalk viola- tions, beach thefts, street robberies and disorderly behavior — the last two occurring primarily during the late night and early morning hours.

Sidewalk violations — e.g., peddling, obstruction, prostitution, animal solicitation and hand billing — and beach thefts are best addressed by dedicated enforcement units. Not consistently addressing both is akin to not taking care of a manicured lawn. The longer you neglect it, the more the weeds will take over.

Late-night/early-morning street robberies and disorderly behavior associated with the over-consumption of alcohol are effectively addressed through incident-based (or hot spot) policing, foot patrols and stationary posts — all employed nightly between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.

In incident-based policing, geographic boundaries set by beats aren’t recognized. Instead, officers from beats where incidents are not occurring are assigned to beats where incidents are occurring, and expected to proactively patrol during their discretionary time. Permanent foot patrols would be established on select beats in Waikiki (those within the area bordered by Kalakaua, Kuhio, Seaside and Liliuokalani avenues). The foot patrol officer would augment the motorized patrol officer. Stationary posts established as needed would be within the same geographic area.

Staffing the dedicated sidewalk and beach patrol units and the permanent foot patrols could be accomplished by filling funded vacant positions assigned to the Waikiki patrol district, or downsizing extraneous elements within the police department, and assigning those positions to Waikiki patrol.

We need to treat Waikiki the way the New York Police Department treats Times Square: a large number of police officers, with their strong presence deterring both criminal and disorderly behavior.

The police department must establish zero tolerance for those who come to Waikiki and choose to violate our criminal and traffic laws. No more warnings or breaks. You break the law; you get arrested. Waikiki is too important to our state’s economy not to take that approach.