2012-10-12 Police Commission Minutes

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Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes October 12, 2012 Page 2 Crime trends going back to August, they noticed burglars in Hawaiian Paradise Park targeting unattended homes during the day. They continue with information sharing and pawn shop checks. There were increased burglaries in Hilo and Kona. In Hilo, they have a special enforcement unit which has been addressing this issue. In Kona, joint efforts by patrol, CID, and their special enforcement unit led to the arrest of three suspects. In October, there was a decrease in burglaries in Hilo and Kona. Assistant Chief Kealoha reported that to date in October, they had only one burglary in West Hawaii. They think they have all the right people behind bars right now. It’s a small group of people doing a large portion of the crimes. People have been vigilant, and there have been more activity with the neighborhood watches. Vice Chair Ignacio stated that she heard comments that the police department has a real interest in soliciting information from the community, and that the public feels they can make a difference. Assistant Chief Tavares stated that Community Police Officers have set up an information booth at Wal-Mart and the Prince Kuhio Plaza on alternating Fridays. They have displays on how to secure your home and hand out informational fliers. Approximately a hundred people stopped by the booths. Traffic report by area, category, and trends. Assistant Chief Kealoha reported that during the month of September, 4,642 citations were issued for the following violations: 3,238 moving/regulatory, 348 seatbelt, 59 child restraint, and 997 speeding. They had 16 fatalities compared to 5 last year. For traffic trends, crashes remain constant. They are focused on the major intersections. The major cause for the accidents is inattention to driving, resulting in rear-end collisions. They continue enforcement in the main thoroughfares. The accident rates remain constant. North Hilo had 10 accidents which are quite a bit for a small district. Hmkua had 12 accidents. They continue with aggressive enforcement and officer presence on Route 19. In Puna, Highways 130 and 11, Kahakai Boulevard, and Pahoa Village Road are where the majority of traffic crashes occur. They continue with enforcement and officer presence. In West Hawai‘i, they do not have any identifiable trends. Accident rates remain constant. Due to the Ironman Triathlon, they are seeing an increase in traffic and accidents. Sometimes the drivers are foreigners and are not familiar with our rules of the road. They had another fatality involving visitors on a rental motorcycle in North Kohala. Chair Ono asked who makes the decision on installing traffic signal lights on county roads. Assistant Tavares thought it is determined by Public Works who does get input from the Police Department. Chief Kubojiri stated that the Traffic Services Division sends out their engineers to make the determination. Chair Ono stated that the Pahoa town intersection is very busy and it is very hard to pull out onto the highway. Assistant Chief Tavares said that location is unique in that it’s a State highway and County Road.