HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0091.032 2016-2018 P/5 PECIA L
Cou N Cit
Eat_ l ►,DR.2
Murashige, Laura COUNTY CLERK Comm- q�
C0�`��T1' 0r E4A' Ali
From: Cristina Shark <cristinasharkrayna@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 11:57 AM 21111 HAY 17 PH 12: 00
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Puna Testimony for FY2017-18 Operating Budget Special County Council Meeting 5/18
(opps,full subject didn't appear;want to make sure this gets to right meeting in time:
Puna Testimony for FY2017-18 Operating Budget Special County Council Meeting 5/18)
POLICE & PREVENTION PLEASE!
I live in Upper Puna,the Volcano area, Hawaiian Orchid Isle Estates subdivision,where car theft, home burglaries, and
break-ins to vacation rentals/B&B's by an apparently expanding and quite well-organized ring of thieves is significantly
on the rise.
The police department covering all of upper and lower Puna receives 5339 service calls per year with only 8 patrol
officers to cover an area the size of the entire island of Oahu.
How can these thousands of calls for help from residents all be effectively answered with so few officers to cover such a
vast area?
According to the National Park Service, 1,832,660 folks visit Volcano area's Volcano National Park annually,which
supports not only this HI natural treasure, but also all the surrounding Upper Puna businesses: restaurants,art galleries,
gas stations, markets,vacation rentals,and B&Bs.
With 59.5%of county revenues coming from our Real Property Taxes(and that tax expected to increase by$15.6
million), plus an increased Fuel Tax from 8.8 cents/gal to 19.0 cents/gallon in 2017-2018...are we residents of Upper and
Lower Puna receiving our fair proportion of services from this revenue in terms of police, ambulance, infrastructure,
parks, roads,etc?
The answer is No.
Puna is the fastest growing district in Hawaii,estimated to surpass Hilo by 2020...and we are way underserved in terms
of attention to the escalating crimes just written up in a recent Tribune Herald article,with many of our 8 patrol officers,
as reported by my subdivision's Community Officer at a recent Neighbor Watch meeting, completely burnt out.
So yes,we do need more police officers in this area, along with a specific Volcano Area Sub-Station so that response
time can be minutes rather than hours...
...but just addingpolice won't fix the,current crime problem since the police officers and prosecutor's office I've
J more
spoken to since the theft of my own car say Big Island jails are already overcrowded, with no place to put new
criminals...other than the most violent ones.
In my opinion, PREVENTION is where long-term money from the current budget needs to be spent.
1) It is much easier(and more long-lastingly effective)to build strong children than to try to later repair(or just jail)
broken men, as the non-profit organization Boys To Men says: http://www.b2mhawaii.org/
1 Chan No.
(�w
Ref. T®s
Re4f, Dote MAY 1 8 2017
These folks have been active doing just that in Hawaii since 2013, and currently have a long waiting list of boys whom
additional funding&outreach could help empower away from crime towards better life choices.
Currently there are Boys To Men service locations in 5 Big Island areas including Waimea, but NONE in Volcano, Hilo,or
Pahoa where such a thing would be extra beneficial.
2)There are also Addiction Treatment Centers on island working to move people away from drugs, sexual addictions,
and gang-type "street cred" behaviors,such as what we're seeing locally in the expanding rings of thieves.Such centers
should receive additional support towards further addressing these problematic behaviors towards decreasing island
crime long-term.
3)And lastly,there are places specifically supporting community empowerment through economic development
opportunities to improve the quality of life in rural communities such as where I live in jungly Puna,which should receive
funding to expand their efforts, like: https://www.hacbed.org/current-projects/hoowaiwai-network/
Because when people are healthy, engaged in interesting activities,and they have enough money to feed themselves
and their families...they are much less likely to be drawn into a life of crime.
And overall,that is a MUCH better solution for all the rest of us,than endlessly needing more police officers and more
prisons.
Thank you so much for your efforts towards creating a safer Hawaii for everybody!
Sincerely,
Myelle
2