Posted on: Monday, September 17, 2001

Editorial
West Side should adopt Weed & Seed program

"Any community can do this if they want to," said an officer assigned to the police district that includes Wai'anae and 'Ewa Beach. "But," he added, "that is the key. They have to want to."

Now residents of District 8 have the opportunity to want to make their communities safer.

It's up to residents to generate enough community support to start a "Weed & Seed" crime-fighting program. Sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department, the program is a law enforcement effort to reclaim dangerous neighborhoods. The program targets violent crime, drug abuse and gang activity, using tough legal penalties to "weed out" crime, replacing the criminal activities with positive programs — the "seed."

Residents of Kalihi-Palama and Chinatown have seen huge changes in bettering their communities. Now Waipahu has embraced the Weed & Seed program. District 8 could — and, with sufficient support, should — be the next.

As they move ahead, however, they must ensure that what they get is equal measure of "weed" and "seed." In many ways, the seed part of this project is the more important.