A community meeting tonight will address citizens' concerns about homelessness and crime. Meeting to discuss
crime and homelessnessFBI data say Hawaii led the
nation in larceny-theft in 2000By Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.comIn 2000, Hawaii had the highest rate in the nation of larceny-theft and ranked second in property crime, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Report.
State Rep. Galen Fox (R, Waikiki) said yesterday that crime continues to rise in his district. "By April 10, aggravated assault, burglary and larceny (in Waikiki) were already more than half than last year's total," he said.
So far this year, there have been 93 auto thefts in Waikiki compared with 78 in 2001, he added.
"We need to get a grip on this and figure out the best way to turning it around and going back to reducing the crime rate than seeing it rise," Fox said.
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle; Maj. Thomas Nitta, of the Honolulu Police Department; and Mark Chandler of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will also speak at the meeting.
Besides focusing on crime in Hawaii, the meeting will also address the growing homeless population in Ala Moana Park.
Chandler is expected to talk about programs, such as Emergency Shelter Grant and Shelter Plus Care, available to assist the homeless.
"If we can generate more housing and combine that with treatment programs that subsidize the rent, we may be able to move the homeless population in places where they have a roof and where they're getting treated," Fox said.
The meeting will be at 6:30 at the Hawai'i Convention Center, Room 320.