‘A lot of paperwork’: 5 months in, flaws apparent in city program to ban repeat offenders from Waikiki

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - In September, the city made a big splash in launching “Waikiki Safe and Sound,” a program billed as taking a harder stance on crime in the state’s no. 1 tourism destination.

A centerpiece of the initiative: Banning habitual criminal offenders from Waikiki for up to a year.

But five months after the program’s launch, critics say “Safe and Sound” has key flaws, the most glaring of which is there are no immediate consequences for banned offenders caught returning to Waikiki.

That’s because HPD can’t just arrest violators on sight, a facet of the program some say needs to be changed.

‘It’s a lot of paperwork’

Critics say when Waikiki “Safe and Sound” was launched, it was advertised as something it wasn’t.

In announcing the program at a news conference, city Prosecutor Steve Alm pledged: “Let’s keep guys who are causing trouble in Waikiki out of Waikiki. And if they come here that would allow HPD to arrest them on the spot.”

But it’s not that simple.

“We were under the impression people were going to be immediately picked up once they violated the stay away order,” said Waikiki resident Tim Garry.

Waikiki resident John Duetzman added, “It’s not immediate. It’s a lot of paperwork.”

PHOTO GALLERY: People banned under Waikiki Safe and Sound

Here’s how the process actually works:

After the court issues a geographic restriction, the information is sent to HPD and uploaded into its system.

“It’ll take a couple of weeks on average, if not a little longer,” said HPD Maj. Randall Platt. “So when we run somebody, sometimes it doesn’t show immediately that person has a geographic restriction.”

Even after HPD has the information, Platt said, “We don’t arrest them. What we do is make a report.”

From there paperwork is sent back to the prosecutor, who will typically ask for a revocation of probation.

A judge then has to issue a warrant. From there, the information is sent back to HPD.

Only then, after all six steps are complete, do officers have the authority to take action and make an arrest.

“There are some people that even though they have a geographic restriction, clearly, obviously they come back,” Platt said. “But there are a lot of people who actually haven’t.”

‘Somebody has to step up’

From Sept. 6 to Jan. 19, judges issued geographic restrictions for 36 people under the program.

Many are no stranger to law enforcement. Court documents show the majority of stay away orders were issued for crimes like theft, assault, criminal trespassing and harassment.

Over the past three weeks, the program has picked up steam.

Judges issued geographic restrictions to at least 30 additional people, bringing the total to about 70.

HNN confirmed at least 25%, or 18 offenders, have been caught returning to Waikiki.

When asked how many arrests there have been of people ignoring their stay away orders, officials said there have been at least two. But because there is no central place where this information is recorded, the number could be slightly higher.

At a recent neighborhood board meeting, residents shared their frustrations about the program with police and called on authorities to institute more immediate consequences for violators.

“Somebody has to step up and be bold and fix it,” said Duetzman. “This criminal-friendly atmosphere has to stop.”

At the meeting, Platt told Duetzman, “It’s a slow process and we’re trying to find ways to speed it up.”

He added, “But that’s the process we have now.”

City Prosecutor Steve Alm also addressed the current situation in Waikiki during a recent interview, saying “no one promised this was going to get solved overnight.”

Alm told HNN between September and mid-January, officers arrested more than 500 people in the tourist district.

He said he’s pleased to see the courts are now granting requests for geographic restrictions more often.

“We’d ask people to be patient. It’s going to get better,” Alm said.

“What we’re trying to do is make Waikiki streets as safe as possible. And I think we’re making good progress so far.”

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