Weed & Seed expansion approved
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the expansion of the Weed & Seed law enforcement program from the Kalihi-Palama/Chinatown site both west into Kalihi Valley and east into the Ala Moana area.
U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo made the announcement yesterday at Central Middle School and said the program has been very effective in fighting crime and rebuilding troubled neighborhoods by bringing federal money and federal penalties to bear.
Officials say the designation will be key to cleaning up an area where Kubo said drug violations are more than double the state average and the number of family offenses, including domestic violence, outstrip those statewide.
Since the Kalihi-Palama/Chinatown site launched in 1998, crimes such as homicide, rape, robbery and assault have dropped as much as 75 percent, Kubo said. Community restoration projects in the area include upgrades to public housing and parks, job training programs and neighborhood cleanups.
Weed & Seed is a coordinated effort among city, state and federal law enforcement agencies and residents to target violent crime, drug abuse and gang activity. Official designation brings federal money to fight crime and tough federal penalties for violations in the area — the "weed" side — combined with crime prevention and efforts at intervention, treatment and neighborhood revitalization to "seed" a safer community, said Maile Kanemaru, Hawai'i Weed & Seed executive director.
"We are very proud of the changes that the Weed & Seed strategy has brought about in our communities," Kanemaru said. "People are building stronger partnerships and taking pride in their neighborhoods. But there is still much work to be done for the continued success of Weed & Seed."
The original site included an area from Nu'uanu Avenue to the Kapalama Canal between the H-1 Freeway and North King Street and Dillingham Boulevard.
The expanded area will include areas all the way to Kalakaua Avenue and the Convention Center in the east and to Kalihi Street and most of Kalihi Valley in the west.
The population of the new site is 58,421. It includes 17 public housing complexes, home to half O'ahu's public housing residents, who are considered an at-risk group.
Farrington and McKinley high schools are included in the new area, where students are at risk for anti-social behavior including criminal activity and drug use, according to a 2001 state Board of Education study. At Farrington, 42.6 percent of the student body have reported gang involvement.
"Drugs and illegal guns are the two most dangerous threats to the safety of the people of Hawai'i," Kubo said. "As we move into the next phase of Weed & Seed, our focus is to get even tougher on drug-related crimes in Hawai'i's communities by cracking down on gun violence as well."
Milo Saole knows that Weed & Seed works.
Her son was 23 years old when he was the arrested for selling drugs in Kalihi. He was the first person arrested in the then-new Weed & Seed district and served a year in prison for his crime. Saole said the tough punishment helped because it got him out of the area and away from the criminal element. Today he is clean and sober, she said.
"He learned. He completely stopped," Saole said. "I very much support Week & Seed. It is safe now to walk the streets."
A second Weed & Seed site was designated in late 2000 in Waipahu, where drug crimes have fallen by 78 percent. The 'Ewa site, the third on O'ahu, got started in September 2002. There are more than 351 Weed & Seed sites in 46 states.
The expansion was approved after a visit by a U.S. Justice Department official last month, which capped an 18-month application process.
The community has developed a strategic plan to create a safe community, reduce poverty, improve economic development and provide support services for at-risk youth.
Next, Kanemaru said, the community's committees and law enforcement groups will finalize plans for the expanded areas, including patrol and policing efforts, grant applications and a starting date for the federal penalties.
Signs will be placed at designated entry points to the new Weed & Seed areas to let residents and criminals know they are entering a special crime-fighting area.
"We've seen the success of Weed & Seed in the Kalihi area and realized that by simply sharing ideas and working together we can take it upon ourselves to make a difference and improve the quality of life in our own neighborhoods," resident Cindy Rasmussen said.
Reach James Gonser at 535-2431 or jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com
• • •
