07-08-2010, 02:32 AM
The Hawaii County Police, based on national standards and rankings, has a very good record in law enforcement. They rank in the top percentile for solving crimes and have a decent crime prevention program.
With that said, I believe their negative reputation in the Puna area is primarily due to a lack of interest in what happens in the District. It is well known in government circles that the Puna District is not a political force to worry about, thus there really is no need to be concern with service delivery. Second is that the overwhelming belief outside the east side of the Big Island is that the Puna District is the "other side of the tracks" and the people are anti-government/establishment who actually don't want government involvement in their lives. The third equally important factor is that overall, there is a strong belief that the "ghetto" (for lack of a better descriptor) mentality of the area is something the people actually wants and is what attracts people to the area.
There is a strong fear that anything government does to improve the area would actually be taken as a negative by the people. This forces the police to de-prioritize anything but serious crime and token enforcement of petty crimes. If you get a chance to really speak to Hawaii County Police officers, they will tell you that they are not welcome by the people in the area. It’s not that they don’t care or want to help; they say the people don’t want them there and would rather not have police presence.
The attitude of the people has rubbed off on the attitude of the officers. I’m sure if you followed post on Punaweb you will see that whenever police action is occurring, the first reaction of people is to think of all the negatives of that action. A police search for missing person becomes some police action on medical marijuana. A search for a criminal is spying on people by the police. Speed enforcement based on complaints is first reported as a shakedown and money grab by the police.
Do you really expect the Police to give a hoot about a District that doesn’t want them?
With that said, I believe their negative reputation in the Puna area is primarily due to a lack of interest in what happens in the District. It is well known in government circles that the Puna District is not a political force to worry about, thus there really is no need to be concern with service delivery. Second is that the overwhelming belief outside the east side of the Big Island is that the Puna District is the "other side of the tracks" and the people are anti-government/establishment who actually don't want government involvement in their lives. The third equally important factor is that overall, there is a strong belief that the "ghetto" (for lack of a better descriptor) mentality of the area is something the people actually wants and is what attracts people to the area.
There is a strong fear that anything government does to improve the area would actually be taken as a negative by the people. This forces the police to de-prioritize anything but serious crime and token enforcement of petty crimes. If you get a chance to really speak to Hawaii County Police officers, they will tell you that they are not welcome by the people in the area. It’s not that they don’t care or want to help; they say the people don’t want them there and would rather not have police presence.
The attitude of the people has rubbed off on the attitude of the officers. I’m sure if you followed post on Punaweb you will see that whenever police action is occurring, the first reaction of people is to think of all the negatives of that action. A police search for missing person becomes some police action on medical marijuana. A search for a criminal is spying on people by the police. Speed enforcement based on complaints is first reported as a shakedown and money grab by the police.
Do you really expect the Police to give a hoot about a District that doesn’t want them?