People fed up with rising crime in Waikiki, including several recent murders, urged officials at a town hall meeting Wednesday to take action to improve the neighborhood for tourists and residents alike.
Honolulu City Councilman Tommy Waters and state Sen. Sharon Moriwaki, who represent Waikiki, called the evening meeting to respond to the perception that crime is growing and find solutions for the neighborhood.
“We’re deeply concerned about the safety of our keiki, kupuna and everyone and it appears that there’s been a rise in crime,” Waters said.
Among the most notable Waikiki crimes was a Jan. 19 landlord-tenant dispute that resulted in the death of two Honolulu police officers, who were shot by the tenant, whose actions also killed his landlord and himself. The gunman, 69-year-old Jarda “Jerry” Hanel, also attacked another tenant and caused a blaze that destroyed five Diamond Head homes and significantly damaged two others.
Just before that incident, a series of violent purse snatchings and robberies already had put Waikiki in the news. Over the past six months, Honolulu police Maj. Craig Uehira said in addition to four murders, there were 26 gun-related crimes, 23 purse snatchings, 93 burglaries, 42 robberies, 935 thefts, 177 unauthorized entries of vehicles, 243 assaults and 23 sex crimes.
“The perception that crime is rising over the last six months is true, but it all depends on when you run the statistics. From 2018 to 2019 crime in Waikiki dropped,” Uehira said. “And just because crime statistics go up doesn’t always mean it’s a bad sign. Sometimes it just means that we made more arrests.”
Moriwaki said homelessness, drug use, mental illness and those that prey on vulnerable targets like tourists and the elderly are a growing community concerns. On hand to discuss these trends were Honolulu Police Department District 6 police officers as well as the city’s Office of Housing and the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney.
HPD Waikiki District Capt. Jarod Hiramoto said, “We’ll catch these people one way or another. It’s an island. We are going to take back our community.”
Uehira said HPD has increased its visibility, especially on Friday and Saturday nights in Waikiki, and is using technology to help police identify higher-crime areas and peak times.
Officials also suggested solutions that ran the gamut from supporting legislation to crack down on repeat offenders and those who prey on the elderly to tougher gun laws.
Acting Honolulu Prosecutor Dwight Nadamoto also recommended building a new prison big enough to allow for in-house drug treatment.
HPD Lt. Daniel Jasco, Waters and Moriwaki were supportive of a broader geographical ban much like one that was put in place years ago to help the district reduce prostitution. But Nadamoto expressed reservations saying “all you are doing is moving your problem to someone else.”
Moriwaki said she tried this year and last year to get a “three strikes and you are out” bill passed that would have banned repeat offenders from Waikiki but met with resistance in the same vein as Nadamoto’s concern. She said she’d like to put together a task force to frame more successful legislation that would reduce “the revolving door of offenders coming back into Waikiki.”
Marc Alexander, director of the city Office of Housing, was quick to point out that homelessness is not a crime. However, he acknowledged that the homeless — the most visible kind — are increasing in the community.
During a Jan. 22 point-in-time count there were approximately 159 unsheltered homeless people in the Waikiki ZIP code, where the demographic includes a higher percentage of single white males who are new to Hawaii.
That’s about half of the 326 cases in the East Honolulu region, which includes Waikiki. Altogether that region has had a 14% year-over-year increase in the number of unsheltered homeless people. Also, approximately one out of two of the region’s homeless people were chronically homeless, experiencing mental illness, and/or struggling with substance abuse.
Alexander said reducing homelessness in Waikiki and elsewhere is going to take more housing and outreach, especially for those who struggle with mental illness or substance abuse. He said community members and visitors also need to be discouraged from giving to homeless people and panhandlers.
