Theft poses challenge for Hawai'i's tourism
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
While visitors study the intricate historical displays on the grounds of the USS Arizona Memorial, National Park Service chief ranger Bernard Doyle and his staff are outside, monitoring the parking lot for rental car break-ins.
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"We go without any for weeks, and then we have two or three a day over a two-week period," Doyle said. "It's unfortunate that a moving experience for many memorial visitors has to be soured by these thieves."
A large warning sign alerts visitors to the possible presence of thieves at the USS Arizona Memorial. Police and tourist industry officials say crimes against tourists and other nonresidents account for a significant share of property crimes here.
The Arizona Memorial lot isn't the only trouble spot for tourists. Other visitor attractions, beach parks and shopping centers around O'ahu face problems with property theft from rental cars, helping to make Hawai'i the larceny-theft capital of the nation, and second in property crimes.
Law enforcement authorities do not have statistics on which destinations are hit most often, but police and tourist industry officials say crimes against tourists and other nonresidents account for a significant share of property crimes here. About 6.5 million tourists visit the Islands each year.
One indicator comes from the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai'i, a nonprofit organization that helps Hawai'i visitors in emergency situations.
This year, the group has received 900 referrals to help 1,581 tourists, with about 800 of those cases involving theft. That's an increase from 2001, when the organization had 738 referrals, of which 622 were theft-related.
"For the visitor, it can be very disappointing. You're having fun on your vacation and then that bubble bursts," said VASH president Rika Ikeda. "That's why we try to assist them any way we can, and try to leave them with a positive feeling about Hawai'i despite what happened."
Surveillance cameras were added this year at the USS Arizona to complement the armed federal rangers patrolling the parking lot, Doyle said. Private security guards will be hired to watch vehicles early next year.
The National Park Service is negotiating with the Navy to allow purses and fanny packs into the visitor center, possibly by next spring, he said. Such items have been banned at the memorial since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"We have to keep the food away from the sharks," said Doyle, noting that a rental storage area was installed in the parking lot in the meantime. "The crooks either wait in the bushes or use binoculars from a distance to watch visitors as they put their valuables in their car trunks. We even had a woman trying to appear normal by holding her baby, when actually she was trying to break into the vehicles."
Mari Wilson, 34, of Milwaukee, Wis., sympathized as she put her backpack in the rental storage area. "It's a shame it's come to this, but the park service should be commended for taking some actions," Wilson said. "I think we tourists, to a fault, think of Hawai'i as total paradise, when any travel spot is going to have crime like anywhere else, and we have to be aware of that."
Meanwhile, on the North Shore, police are preparing for increased vehicle break-ins at the beach as the winter surf season rolls in, and stepping up patrol and surveillance operations.
"We're expecting an increased amount of visitors — tourists and local — to visit the North Shore for the big waves and the surf meets," said Maj. Stephen Kornegay, commander of the Wahiawa station. "But while they're focusing on the surf, the thieves are focusing on their cars. All it takes is a few seconds for thieves to break in and take their belongings."
Tourism dilemma
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Law enforcement and travel officials understand that the situation poses a delicate problem for the state's top industry: how to attract visitors to Hawai'i while politely reminding them of the potential for crime. Tourism officials are hesitant to label certain spots as crime-plagued areas because it might hurt business.
Justin Johnson, left, and Ted Among check in bags to store in the parking lot of the USS Arizona Memorial.
"Even though we promote Hawai'i as paradise — and rightfully so — I think we're obligated to let our visitors know that there is crime down here, and to use caution," said Honolulu police Maj. Darryl Perry of the department's criminal investigation division. "And I think all tourists, including ourselves when we travel, tend to let our guard down."
Frank Haas, marketing director for the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, said educating visitors on security requires a delicate balance between "making our visitors alert but not making them paranoid." The industry offers various gentle reminders about crime, Haas said.
No one knows precisely how much crime affects nonresidents. Hawai'i has a population of about 1.2 million, of which some 200,000 are nonresidents.
According to Paul Perrone of the Research and Statistics Branch of the state Attorney General's Crime Prevention and Justice Assistance Division, crime statistics are not broken down by residency.
The agency received a $500,000 federal grant this year as seed money to begin culling statistics of crimes against tourists as part of a national program. But Perrone estimates the project will take millions of dollars, plus electronic upgrading of the records systems of all four county police departments.
Hawai'i's crime rate might end up inflated, Perrone said, because it will add tourists to a crime rate calculated only for residents. "There are a lot of thefts from tourists, but we don't count the de facto population in the study, so it boosts the figures up," Perrone said.
Education efforts
The tourism industry has taken a number of steps to warn visitors.
Gordon U. Kai, director of regional sales and marketing for Budget Rent A Car, said his company hangs tags on the rearview mirrors of rental vehicles reminding customers to keep valuables out of sight. About five years ago, Kai said, many local car companies locally began removing company bumper stickers and other items that identified their vehicles as rentals.
"We didn't want to make it too obvious," Kai said. "At the check-out counters, we try to put in a word to the visitors about security. But since many are on a tight vacation schedule, a lot of them are in a rush to get to the beach or other destinations."
Hawaii Hotel Association president Murray Towill said local hotels also changed their policies to improve security.
"Just in case they lose their electronic hotel room card, we advise guests to keep the electronic room key separate from their guest folio that may give away their room number," Towill said.
Burglars sometimes attempt to break into hotel rooms by posing as guests, claiming to be locked out and asking hotel maids to let them in.
"It varies among the hotels, but guests are now directed to the front desk, and show proof of identification before being let back in," Towill said. "Many of the hotels now provide in-room videos on security and other safety tips while traveling around the islands."
Perrone predicts that even without counting tourist-related crimes, Hawai'i might rank among the nation's top 10 for property crimes because of the high rate of reporting.
"Local police tend to respond to public calls on even low-value property crimes, while police in other major cities wouldn't even think about doing that," he said. "That puts the police presence here in a positive light, but it also jacks up our property crime stats."
Hawai'i still ranks among the states with the least violent crime, Perrone said, which is unusual for a state with high property crime.
"Fortunately, our violent crime has remained low, which is part of the reason why we're still a popular tourist destination," he said.
Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-8110.
