[ OUR OPINION ]
THE nation's steady drop in crime has ended with the collapse of the decade-long economic surge. The new trend of increased crime in Hawaii cannot be attributed to that phenomenon, of course, because Hawaii did not share in the prosperity. Law enforcement agencies need to explain the statistical meltdown and make their case before the City Council before crime reaches even higher levels. Hawaii law enforcement
must be restored
THE ISSUE Auto thefts increased drastically on Oahu in the first seven months of this year.
The consequences of this trend stretch throughout the city and state, jeopardizing tourism and other economic development. Safety and security are essential to assure a favorable environment for spending a vacation or setting up business.
In the first seven months of this year, automobile thefts on Oahu increased by 49 percent over the same period last year. Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue saw the disaster occurring months ago, after car thieves discovered that the city was too short-handed to bring them to justice.
City budget cuts have left law enforcement agencies overburdened. Reduced wages have caused many Hawaii police officers to take better-paying jobs on police forces in Nevada, Oregon and Washington. HPD reported five months ago that 13 percent of its uniformed officer positions were vacant. At the same time, city Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said his office was understaffed by six lawyers.
In January, Carlisle sent a memorandum to Donohue informing him that the prosecutor's office could not handle all the nonviolent criminals arrested, so police should cut back on bringing charges against offenders. The revolving door that resulted from the "don't book 'em Danno" memo was predictable.
"We arrest them, they get let out, we arrest them again," Donohue said in June. "Some have been released from prison; they get arrested four times since being released, they're still not being charged."
Police Maj. Alan Arita says the Honolulu Police Department is concentrating more on individual criminals -- multiple offenders -- instead of single crimes, an apparent method of accommodating Carlisle's request. The department has identified nine men they consider to be most active in the stealing of cars.
The trend of increased property crimes had begun even before Carlisle was forced to shift the wheels of justice into low gear. For two consecutive years, Hawaii had the highest rate of thefts -- including car thefts -- and the second-highest overall property crime rate among all 50 states, according to FBI figures.
Hawaii's high ranking may be partly due to the method of ranking according to crimes per capita; tourists are not counted in the equation. However, that does not explain the state's elevation in the rankings. Hawaii jumped last year to 10th from 13th in burglaries and to sixth from eighth in auto thefts alone.
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Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
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