Posted on: Saturday, December 8, 2001

Editorial

There's no perfect site for parole program

Given the choice, few if any parents want their kids crossing paths with ex-convicts, particularly sex offenders.

So it's no surprise that the parents of students at St. Andrew's Priory School, Central Middle and Royal Elementary are dead set against the Hawai'i Paroling Authority moving a program for 340 parolees — including 83 sex offenders — into its offices on Alakea Street.

Ideally, such a program would be away from schools, yet still easy to reach via public transport. But such a location is tough to find in Hawai'i. And the fact is, any site risks falling prey to some community's Not-in-My-Back-Yard syndrome.

And so given the state's need to find a cheaper, safer and more efficient facility for parolees until it builds a permanent facility in Kapolei, the Alakea Street office could turn out to be the most convenient temporary option.

Consider the program's current location: The Waia-kamilo Road facility that the state plans to shut down is near eight schools and some 5,000 schoolchildren. Under the terms of its lease, it cannot install a security system.

By comparison, the Alakea Street office has a security system in place, and is right next door to the Honolulu County Sheriff's Department and district courts.

Of course, there's no guarantee that parolees won't cross paths with the area's students as they travel to interviews with parole officers once or twice a week. There are about 1,500 schoolchildren in the immediate area and about 6,000 college students at Hawai'i Pacific University's downtown campus.

But let's face it. This bustling downtown neighborhood is crammed with people from all walks of life. As in any American city center, adults and children are expected to develop some basic street smarts to protect themselves from con artists and other predators.

In response to community concern, the Hawai'i Paroling Authority has agreed to consider other sites and has delayed a move until after Jan. 1. One possible location is a Department of Public Safety building on Ala Moana. It's close to a bus line, but would have to undergo extensive renovations.

The Hawai'i Paroling Authority should use the next few weeks to explore the safest and most efficient solution to relocating its parolee program. And when it does, it must do everything in its power to assure the facility's neighbors they will not be victimized by its clients.

But in the end, it cannot let the NIMBY syndrome paralyze efforts to move the program to a more secure environment.