Posted on: Saturday, September 25, 2004
Tourist spots getting cameras to deter thefts
Advertiser Staff
Surveillance cameras will soon be installed at the Pali Lookout and the 'Ehukai Beach parking lots in a pilot program intended to reduce thefts.
Advertiser library photo The installation, initially planned for the summer, was postponed until this month because contracting took longer than expected, HTA officials have said. The pilot project will run for about five months, followed by an assessment of the program.
"If the plan is successful, we hope that the Police Department or the law-enforcement agencies will take a look at all of the results and hopefully work and lobby to utilize similar systems," said Muriel Anderson, the authority's director of tourism programs.
Police received nine reports of break-ins at the Pali Lookout parking lot in August and received five reports so far this month, said Lt. Sherman Chan, who heads the burglary theft detail in Kalihi. He said those numbers were "pretty good" and that police periodically plant decoy vehicles and stake out the area to catch thieves.
Chan said any additional surveillance, like the cameras, is "definitely a positive."
The Hawai'i Tourism Authority, which approved $67,500 to install the cameras, selected the areas because of police reports documenting car break-ins and stolen valuables. The two locations are commonly visited by tourists, who are attractive targets for thieves.
Signs warn visitors about possible thefts at the Pali Lookout. Hawai'i Tourism Authority officials hope that surveillance cameras at the Pali, and 'Ehukai Beach, will be a further deterrence against theft.
