Hawaii's crime
a threat to health

The attorney general's office research chief says
violence poses a 'pretty explosive situation'

By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii's total crime rate in 1994 was 24 percent higher than the national rate, "and that gap is increasing," says Tom Green, research chief in the attorney general's office.

Only 4 percent of Hawaii's crimes in 1994 involved violence, he said. "Despite that, we need to be concerned."

Simple and aggravated assaults and use of firearms are increasing here, he pointed out. "When you combine that with an element of fear and threats, it adds up potentially to a pretty explosive situation."

Dr. Barry Levy, the American Public Health Association's president-elect, says violence is a national health problem.

"The toll is enormous," he said, pointing to the human and financial costs of crimes and abuses against children, elders and partners.

Levy, a Tufts University School of Medicine professor and environmental and occupational health consultant, was the keynote speaker at the Hawaii Public Health Association's annual meeting last week. Green presented an update on violence in Hawaii. They elaborated on the problems in interviews.

There is a perception that violence is increasing here, said Green, chief of research and statistics for the Crime Prevention and Justice Assistance Division.

In recent weeks, he noted, a Chicago policeman was attacked on the North Shore and Oahu had its fourth hostage situation in three months.

"And this doesn't even count all of the homicides, rapes, robberies and assaults we have been exposed to in the name of 'entertainment,' " he said.

"Solutions call for a public health approach - to look at individuals, schools, families and peer groups in the community," Green said.

Levy said many of the Public Health Association's 32,000 members are trying to address violence as a public health problem at state and local levels.

Public health professionals must work with the criminal justice system, physicians, social workers and others to identify and resolve issues related to violence, he said.

"We're not effectively addressing the problems," Levy said. "Why do parents abuse children? Why does society permit that to happen?"

Root causes of violence must be examined, not only the symptoms, he said.

And more emphasis must be placed on children to break the cycle of violence, he said, not only providing recreational activities to keep them off the streets but teaching them values and responsibility.

"Now is not the time to be cutting back on essential public health services," Levy stressed, noting downsizing in that area across the country while homicides, teen suicide attempts and other violent incidents are climbing.

Green cites disturbing trends locally: Increasing arrests of younger kids, 13 and 14, and people staying longer in violent careers.

In the past, he said, people "aged out" of criminal violence, which tended to peak in the late teens to mid-20s before dropping dramatically.

Also, he said, "people in general, and juveniles in particular, are becoming more assaultive." The percentage of homicides and robberies that involve firearms is steadily increasing, he said.

"A number of people are talking about the lack of civility - something those of us living in Hawaii have taken for granted," Green said, questioning whether the spirit of aloha is being communicated to children or is true among people who migrate here.

Among other influences, Green said, people are frustrated by urban growth and crowding and uneasy because of the economic situation.

"Everybody's future is a little bit tenuous."