EDITORIAL
Police need more help in Big Island war on 'ice'

Rep. Bob Herkes of the Big Island is right about one thing: In the battle against crystal methamphetamine on his home island, "the status quo is unacceptable."

That said, however, a bill by Herkes and Rep. Eric Hamakawa, Big Island Democrats, to create a shadow drug enforcement unit, separate from the county Police Department, will create more problems than it solves.

Epidemic on Hawai'i

"Ice" is a scourge on all islands, but an epidemic on the Big Island, and until quite recently, county police have not seemed very proactive.

Indeed, the department is struggling to recover from more than a decade of enforcement lapses. It may be a lingering lack of trust that inspires this "end run" around the department, proposing a new drug enforcement "strike force," made up of retired law enforcement officials hired under contract.

The bill also proposes a "drug control" council in the state Department of Public Safety and some treatment programs for intermediate and high schools.

Skip tobacco fund

One controversial aspect is that Herkes and Hamakawa want funding to come from the tobacco settlement fund.

We haven't been purists ourselves in insisting that every penny from this fund go to tobacco education and prevention projects, but we'd have to think this money is a lot more appropriate going to drug treatment or education programs than directly to law enforcement subsidy.

The real drawback to the bill, however, is that it would tend to duplicate existing efforts, perhaps even encouraging competition between county police and the new state unit.

It doesn't make sense to set up new offices and support staff for a new unit when those facilities are already in place on the county level.

Logic suggests there'd be a lot more bang for the buck by putting the proposed $600,000 a year directly into enhanced drug enforcement by the Big Island police.

Big Island Mayor Harry Kim has already proposed spending nearly $1 million in county money on combating "ice," and the Bush administration has promised $900,000.

We support additional state spending going to this effort.

Return to respect

The Big Island police force badly needs to recover respect from the people it serves. Its handling of several major investigations, a promotions rigging scandal and a series of high-profile crimes involving police officers — and now the rise of crack houses and rampant "ice" use on the island — have eroded public confidence.

Lawrence Mahuna, a 30-year police veteran who became the new chief in December, pledges to lead the war on drugs and the campaign to regain respect.

Unless it's shown that he's not up to those challenges, he needs and deserves the complete support of the public and their representatives.

Marginalizing the Police Department is not the answer.