By Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writer
Waikiki will get an extra layer of security beginning next week as private patrols start roving the streets.
The Waikiki Business Improvement District Association announced a contract yesterday with Burns International Security Services to put private security officers in the state’s most heavily traveled tourist district starting Thursday. The price of the contract was not disclosed, but association president Rick Egged has previously estimated it would cost $600,000. The total number of guards also was not available yesterday.
Security became a focal point in Waikiki after a visitor was attacked in his hotel in January and later died. But the association has been considering the initiative for some time. The group said it has hired the unarmed guards to also act as "sidewalk ambassadors," who will guide visitors and create a positive atmosphere in the resort district.
"If we’re after one thing, we want to give our visitors the ability to walk up and down the beach, whether it be day or night, to walk up and down the street and carouse," said Mark DeMello, general manager of the Waikiki Parc Hotel, which is a member of the association. "If that’s what it takes, putting bodies on the street to keep it cleaner or crime free, then let’s do it."
The association also announced a more than $1 million contract last week for street cleaning and landscaping. Those workers began their efforts yesterday.
Security patrols will be on duty from 10 a.m. to midnight, the association said. A watch will be stationed at the Waikiki Police Substation to monitor video feeds from street cameras and to take calls. Other guards will roam both sides of Kalakaua Avenue from Lewers Street to Uluniu Avenue, as well as some side streets. The street guards will be in frequent communication with the police station, the association said, to provide rapid response to criminal activity or urgent situations.
The patrols also will assist in reining in street vendors violating sidewalk ordinances. The patrols will provide written affidavits to the police department, the association said.
Starting May 1, the patrols will expand their range to cover the remainder of the half-square mile Kalakaua-Kuhio corridor.
The patrols will supplement other private security efforts, the association said, and the work of the Honolulu Police Department. Citizen patrols, including the Aloha Patrol, geared to visitors, and the Waikiki Citizen’s Patrol, geared to residents, also police Waikiki.
The association is a nonprofit corporation made up of 1,600 Waikiki businesses and property owners who charge themselves a fee to finance and manage these services.
