Associated Press
Six police and information kiosks planned for Waikiki
are patterned after the koban in Japan, shown above.
Waikiki residents hope they will help deter crime while
being an aid to tourists. They are expected to
be completed by October.

---

Kiosks should help
make Waikiki safer

Police and volunteers will be the area's
'eyes and ears' and 'ambassadors of aloha'

By Stan Constantino
Star-Bulletin

EIGHTY-YEAR-OLD Betty Johnson sees the benefits of having police/information kiosks on Waikiki streets, remembering her purse being snatched in 1953.

"A young man bumped into me and snatched my purse from behind," said Johnson, a Waikiki Neighborhood Board member and Waikiki resident for 45 years.

"I ran after him. He got into a car, and I tried to open the door, but the car sped off. With kiosks on the streets, they would discourage this kind of crime because people don't usually like being observed committing that kind of crime. (The kiosk) is a new, worthwhile idea."

To make Waikiki a safer place and provide tourists with answers to their questions, kiosks -- called "low-tech" crime-fighting technology -- are planned for different locations on Waikiki streets.

tapa The kiosks will be patterned after Japan's koban, staffed by one or more police officers and volunteers.

"We want to bring back the ambience of safety and security for visitors and tourists in Waikiki," said Doug Aton, executive director of the city Office of Waikiki Development.

"The kiosks will be staffed by volunteers and police officers as ambassadors of aloha ... as eyes and ears for the neighborhood," he added.

Six kiosks are planned for Waikiki streets. The first police kiosk, a gift to the city from the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, will front the center. The remaining are planned for the makai-Ewa corner of Lewers and Kalakaua, mauka-Ewa of Kaiulani and Kalakaua, Diamond Head-mauka of Paokalani and Kalakaua, Diamond Head-mauka corner of Uluniu and Kalakaua, and the area of 2310 Kuhio.

In collaboration with police and the community, Aton said, the city chose those locations because they are where the majority of the pedestrian traffic is.

tapa Sam Bren, Waikiki Neighborhood Board chairman, said residents and tourists in Waikiki will definitely benefit from the kiosks because they conveniently will be able to go directly to police with any questions, concerns or problems.

"Tourists will be able to get directions and answers to questions they have such as where things are, what things are," Johnson said. "People can get easily confused with our street names."

Being able to see uniformed police officers on the streets, community and police officials say, is definitely a way to combat crime.

"Basically, we are in favor of greater police presence on the streets. The kobans are an asset in this regard," said Kayleen Polichetti, vice president of the Waikiki Improvement Association.

"Safety in Waikiki seems to be pretty good," she said. "Certainly, we haven't had complaints. Overall, Waikiki has been considered a safe destination for (tourists). The presence of police officers on the street will certainly help in ensuring that."

Waikiki police substation Sgt. George Smith agrees that anywhere you have high visibility of an officer, it provides a sense of security around the area. However, "it's rather difficult to measure the kiosks' deterrance of crime," he said.

The kiosks are scheduled to be completed by October.

Those interested in volunteering in the kiosks should call Aton at 527-7820.