Parks official vetoes signs

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

A plan to put up signs warning tourists of the potential for break-ins at scenic lookouts has been rejected by a city park official.

Department of Parks and Recreation director William Balfour told police that signs would create a false sense of security at areas where there were no signs. Signs may inform a few people to take their valuables with them, wrote Balfour, "but do little to stop thieves from breaking into vehicles."

"We do not view signage as the solution," he wrote in a March 31 letter.

Police had wanted to erect signs at the Halona Blowhole and other scenic lookouts in East Honolulu — favorite stops for tourists as well as the crooks who break into rental cars — as an alternative to the long-standing practice of assigning an officer to park at the various tourist spots as a deterrent.

Police took their plan before the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board, which gave its approval.

But the plan was dismissed upon reaching the Parks Department, which oversees the lookouts on behalf of the state and is in charge of signs.

The signs the police wanted depict a crowbar-wielding person near a car. A similar type of sign was erected many years ago by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources at the Pali Lookout, one of the most popular visitor sites on O'ahu.

"People do come here with a false sense of security thinking it's paradise," said Ho-nolulu Police Capt. Marie McCauley. "It's not New York City or Chicago, a major metropolitan city, but it is a big city with big-city problems."

Law enforcement authorities do not have statistics on which destinations are hit most often, but police and tourist industry officials have said crimes against tourists and other nonresidents account for a significant share of property crimes in Hawai'i. About 6.5 million tourists visit the Islands each year.

City Councilman Charles Djou, who represents East Honolulu, said he is frustrated by the way things don't get done in Hawai'i government. He said the city should follow the advice of the police, who are the experts in public safety.

"I've never been a big fan of those signs, but I will defer to the advice of the police," Djou said.

McCauley said police will continue to rotate their time at the lookouts from Hanauma Bay to Makapu'u, remaining visible to deter would-be criminals, but only when officers are not busy.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.