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It says something about the fears among public housing tenants that so many residents of Kalihi Valley Homes embraced the experience of being on curfew — in essence, under house arrest — for four months, until it ended Aug 1. Now some at neighboring Kuhio Park Terrace want the same experience.
Remarkable. Curfew is meant to be an extraordinary step taken in the context of a threat to health or safety, not privilege to be envied. State officials, fully aware of the civil-liberties concerns, already wisely have resisted the calls to put a pre-emptive curfew in place at KPT in advance of any emergency.
Instead, what’s needed is a review of the lessons learned in the Kalihi Valley curfew exercise and a search for ways to extract some of its benefits in creating a more lasting peace in all public housing developments.
Fortunately, the opportunity to do just that has been endorsed by Denise Wise, executive director of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, the agency that manages the more than 8,100 units on all islands.
After meeting with KVH residents last month before their curfew was about to lapse, Wise said her plan was to schedule a series of community meetings at the state-owned complexes statewide. These meetings will invite residents and others in the community to craft new security protocols and enforcement strategies that would help families feel safer for the long term, not just for the 120-day limit of a curfew.
That’s a worthy idea, because some partnerships among tenant associations, security guards and housing managers are essential for any strategy to work.
Ideas are already bubbling up. State Rep. John Mizuno, D-30th (Kamehameha Heights, Kalihi Valley, Fort Shafter) believes the investigation into the March 29 shooting that prompted the curfew has highlighted gaps in the checkpoint procedures that let an intruder onto the property.
Stricter rules are needed for drivers entering the complex. They and their passengers should provide identification, at a minimum. This will also have the benefit of deterring people who aren’t authorized tenants on a lease from occupying the units, helping managers crack down on another weakness in public housing administration.
Mizuno also proposed that security companies partner with state sheriffs, who have the authority to arrest a suspect immediately. That idea should be explored, assuming supplemental security funds can be found in the housing authority’s budget.
Beyond the checkpoint issue, however, there can be drugs and other criminal activity on the property that undermine safety, Wise said, which tenants are often reluctant to report. She added that overcoming such qualms will require a boost in the trust among residents and management, acknowledging that this is the hard part.
These hearings should draw more than the immediate tenants when they convene in September. The state is the largest landlord in many of the communities where public housing complexes are located, and the people across the street or down the block should engage in the discussion.
Low-cost housing remains a crucial need statewide, and public housing that is secure fills that need more effectively. The success of the mission to improve public housing safety is critical to the people who live in these neighborhoods, but it’s important to the wider community as well.
