Tourist hate-crime measure defeated

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

A move to classify crimes against tourists as hate crimes died in the Legislature yesterday.

Tourism industry officials questioned whether the measure might make tourists think they are a target in Hawai'i, while others said it may make residents second-class citizens.

Rep. Galen Fox, R-23rd (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kaka'ako), said he introduced House Bill 2888 because of the threat to the tourism industry that could come from a negative perception by tourists.

"That is exactly the last thing that we want tourists to think, that they will be picked on when they come to Hawai'i," Fox said.

Fox noted the case of Chicago police officer James Boreczky who was severely beaten on the North Shore in 1996. After two men charged with first-degree robbery were convicted of lesser theft and robbery offenses, the city deputy prosecutor said the verdict sent a "terrible message" that such people can get off with a minor conviction.

Boreczky said shortly after the verdict that the message it sent was: "If you're a tourist out there, you're dirt." He added, "I hate Hawai'i."

Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association, testified in favor of the hate-crime bill and also pointed to the Bo-

reczky case.

"It's crimes like that we're talking about here; it's not just your run of the mill 'tourists get robbed,' " Egged said. In some instances, "there should be penalties beyond the fact that it was just an assault."

But the state Office of the Public Defender, which opposed the bill, testified that the measure "has the curious effect of relegating our state's residents to second-class citizens under the law."

House tourism committee chairman Jerry Chang, D-2nd (Hilo), said he recommended holding the bill for that reason. A crime "should be the same for resident and tourist," he said.

Measures that deter crime are important in keeping Hawai'i's image as a safe destination, said Hawai'i Tourism Authority executive director Rex Johnson.

But he noted that crime statistics are published by the FBI, "which could have a negative impact on the marketing of Hawai'i."

Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2470.