‘Weed and Seed” is coming to Waikiki, where a rash of high-profile violent crimes has put the community on edge.
Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm said the multiagency program, which seeks to “weed out” criminals from a particular district and then “seed” communities by investing in social and economic revitalization, has led to many arrests in the Chinatown and Kalihi-Palama areas and has provided services, such as substance abuse treatment, to help people get off the streets.
“But now we want to bring that strategy to Waikiki,” said Alm, who made the announcement Thursday during a virtual town hall meeting organized by Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters to address public safety and homelessness.
Alm stopped short of providing a timeline for a Waikiki start, which will require planning and funding.
“The good news is we’ve heard from Steve Alm that ‘Weed and Seed’ is coming,” Waters said. “I’m just asking folks to be patient. We’re working on getting it here. We put money in the budget.”
Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association President and CEO Mufi Hannemann said Waikiki businesses and social service partners such as Adult Friends for Youth are ready to provide support when the program comes to the district.
Waters said he will follow up with another town hall meeting in a few months. In the meantime, he said, people should email safety and security concerns to Waikikiconcerns@ honolulu.gov or to tommy. waters@honolulu.gov.
“Email us things like hot spots where we need added police. One of them could be more lighting in Waikiki — things of that nature,” he said. “We’re going to compile that while we work on the ‘Weed and Seed.’”
Alm said public input and support is essential to the success of the program, and asked Waikiki residents, businesses, visitors and workers “to tell us about the problems.”
Hannemann said there is an urgency to bring “Weed and Seed” to Waikiki, where crimes are increasing as COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and more visitors and residents are circulating.
The town hall followed a shooting Wednesday in the heart of Waikiki, the state’s top tourism district and one of its most densely populated neighborhoods.
Honolulu Police Department spokesperson Sarah Yoro on Thursday said police had opened a second- degree attempted murder investigation after an unknown male shot at a vehicle in a public parking structure behind Lewers Street businesses around 11:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Yoro said both the shooter and the target of the shooting fled before police arrived.
“Officers searched the area but were unable to locate either,” she said. “This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact HPD or CrimeStoppers.”
The shooting occurred near Lewers Street and Kalakaua Avenue, where another shooting and two beatings took place over a three-week period in March and April.
“Lewers Street, particularly the section between Kalakaua Avenue and Kuhio Avenue, is a problem area for us,” said HPD Maj. Randall Platt during the town hall meeting when asked about the shooting. “While we cannot sit outside of every bar or babysit every street corner, what we can do is look at areas where there are high incidents of crime or complaints and try to increase patrol or officers in that area.”
Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Kathryn Henski, who participated in the town hall meeting, said she is concerned that yet another violent crime has occurred near Lewers Street. She wants officials to prioritize bringing “Weed and Seed” to Waikiki.
“I definitely want to see ‘Weed and Seed’ and whatever they can do to help us,” Henski said. “Things are so bad on the other end of Waikiki, too, that I’m afraid to let my kids go out to empty the trash in my building.
Alm said “Weed and Seed” has made a difference in Chinatown and Kalihi-Palama over the past nine months.
“Crime is down there about 60%, and at the same time we certainly encourage all the efforts for the homeless population,” he said.
In the nine months since the start of Chinatown’s “Weed and Seed,” he said, more than 130 chronically homeless people have been arrested for felonies, almost all of them drug possession.
Alm said the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney is using a collaborative effort called Substance Use Disorder Assessment-Fast, or SUDA-Fast, to get these people quickly assessed and into treatment. Partners in the program include HPD, the Office of the Public Defender, the Department of Health, the Department of Public Safety, the Judiciary and treatment providers.
When “Weed and Seed” comes to Waikiki, it will need similar support. That’s why Alm and Waters were joined by city officials from the Emergency Services Department, Department of Community Services, HPD and Office of Housing, along with state Rep. Adrian Tam, state Sen. Sharon Moriwaki and Waikiki Business Improvement District President Jennifer Nakayama.
Laura Thielen, executive director of Partners in Care, a continuum-of-care provider for homeless people, also participated.
“The very fact that ‘Weed and Seed’ has worked very well in Kalihi and Chinatown has just spurred our enthusiasm,” Hannemann said. “At the same time, we have also been advocating for ‘Weed and Seed’ funding toward the areas that currently exist and are experiencing some ‘Weed and Seed’ challenges like Ewa Beach and Waipahu.”
Though “Weed and Seed” has not yet come to Waikiki, Alm said his department is working with HPD “to identify those thieves who are stealing our stores in Waikiki blind.”
Alm earlier reported that his department has been charging serial property offenders with habitual property crime, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
“So far, some of the folks arrested for that include Lawrence Smalls, who had 161 prior convictions with zero consequences, Jacob Aukai, Robert Narito Jr., Yolanda Pusi and most recently Anthony Kornegay.”
He said the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney also has been seeking stiffer penalties for those who commit violence against seniors by using Act 147, which makes intentionally or knowingly causing bodily injury to anyone age 60 or older a Class C felony.
Last week an Oahu jury found Mackenzie Barefoot, 28, guilty of second-degree assault for beating a senior security guard at a COVID-19 testing site at the Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell in November.
