Police have told Kona residents they will focus manpower and attention on a rash of burglaries and vehicle thefts plaguing Kona and especially South Kona in recent months. Reacting to public attention and frustration, the Hawaii Police Department said it would dedicate 20 officers, fulltime, to the problem through a special task force.
Police have told Kona residents they will focus manpower and attention on a rash of burglaries and vehicle thefts plaguing Kona and especially South Kona in recent months. Reacting to public attention and frustration, the Hawaii Police Department said it would dedicate 20 officers, fulltime, to the problem through a special task force.
Police have for a long time privately acknowledged the vulnerability of the South Kona region to crime: It has for decades been patrolled by only two officers per shift, officers who rarely left the state highway unless in response to a call. It is a good thing people in South Kona are generally law-abiding, higher level officers would say in recognition of the paucity of police presence in a large geographic area with a relatively large population.
South Kona remains the only district on the island without a dedicated police division, something politicians and police chiefs have for decades pledged to address, since Stephen Yamashiro served as mayor. Residents pay no less in property taxes, yet have been less served in regard to public safety, the primary and most important responsibility of county government.
Only recently has the department added an officer; it now says three officers patrol the region.
An obviously concerned gathering of residents Tuesday night at Konawaena High School wanted answers and assurances their homes would be safe and protected, a reasonable request of a department they fund. They have related instances of police inefficiencies, slow response times and communication being poor at best within the department among officers.
When police that night released the names of suspects, so-called “ice heads” with outstanding warrants, two things are obvious: They are trying to assuage the fears of the community by saying police have a good idea for whom they are looking and by publicizing the names, they hope the ostensible perpetrators will, at best, turn themselves in (that’s how a significant number of Hawaii Island crimes are “solved”) or, at worst, cool it.
Are police looking at lists of items stolen, checking against Craigslist to see if they might be converted into cash? Have they put the “we buy gold” folks on notice they should be requiring legal identification of jewelry and valuable metal sellers? Has there been a push to require that by law to protect residents from dopers seeking to convert valuables to dollars?
Blame the property crimes and vehicle thefts on drugs, sure. Regardless, it is crime against residents and must be met with a strong response, not from police alone but also prosecutors and judges. When we read reports of someone arrested for vehicle theft, released and then within hours arrested again for a similar crime, as happened recently, it is obvious something in the system designed to protect residents is not doing so. It must be fixed.
The courts, as well, have a duty to ensure the application of laws we do have to protect law-abiding residents. While judges cannot impose sentences beyond what is allowable by statute, they can and should impose penalties upon felons reflecting the seriousness of the crime. No more cop out and plea deals, reduced charges with nothing more than a slap of the wrist. Serious crimes with serious societal impacts deserve serious sentences.
Is this an indicator of too few police officers to protect adequately our population? Is it a reflection on drug problems and how offenders are dealt with? Yes, but there is no simple solution.
Ask a child whose home has been burglarized, ransacked and defiled how safe he feels in his home. The housewife whose personal possessions have been stolen or vandalized may never again feel safe within the confines of her home. It is wrong. The reason we have a police force in this and any community is to ensure this happens as infrequently as possible; it’s called public safety and the most important thing our tax dollars fund.
No police force can eliminate crime. But ours can and should do a better job in response to a problem of this magnitude, one that is happening in other areas of the island, too. Ours is a relatively small island community, one that holds few secrets, which should give police investigators an immediate edge.
Residents have a right to protect their property, police told the anxious Konawaena crowd. How, by calling police and awaiting a response? The laws should not sacrifice the rights of the victim in deference to the rights of the criminal — and yet they do.
South Kona Councilwoman Brenda Ford reported, “People are actually putting bullets in their pistols and somebody is going to get hurt.”
This needs to be taken seriously.
No one should have to leave his home for work each day and wonder all the while if it is being burglarized. And yet that is the reality that has been created by an unsavory group of individuals who are devoid of values and morals.
Twenty officers are in a task force dedicated to stemming this scourge. It is cause and effect. Let’s see how quickly arrests are made, cases prosecuted and safety and reassurance are returned to our community.
A neighbor called into our office Wednesday to tell of a strange pickup observed in the rural neighborhood earlier that morning. He said police were at his house in 20 minutes, a quick response given previous response times that some reported.
Perhaps police already are taking this crime spree seriously.
rflickinger@westhawaiitoday.com