Neighborhood Watch organizers push to expand anti-crime program’s reach

If residents want to stop crime in their neighborhoods, it’s time to be neighborly, police and experts said.

Community members, police officers and experts joined together to talk about the Neighborhood Watch program Wednesday night in the Kealakehe Elementary School cafeteria, with adults sitting at the tables used by the students. On the stage were two police officers, a prosecutor and others, occupying the space normally used for school plays.

Jon Sabati became active in the program after his home was burglarized. His home on Oahu was struck twice before he moved to Hawaii. That third time was enough and he joined the group.

“My house got robbed. I said it ain’t gonna happen again,” he said.

One of his contributions was text message groups of people living in the areas of the program.

Within three minutes you can contact 500 people, he said.

The program helped police with “rounding up all the scrubs who was ripping us off,” he said.

Their crime rate has dropped dramatically, he said.

Sometimes he’ll get a message alerting him to a concern on his property, like the dog barking unusually. His neighbor has checked over the property after such events to make sure everything is fine, he said.

That cooperation is what makes the program so effective, he said.

It’s not just nosiness, said prosecutor Mitch Roth. It’s commitment to knowing the people in the neighborhood and their routines, he said.

It’s not only adults who are doing well with this community effort, he said.

Roth said one of the major concerns in Kealakehe was the number of young people being killed in traffic accidents, commonly as a result of intoxicated driving.

But the students got together to stop it, creating shirts and programs. The result was a four-year period where there were no fatalities in the area involving young people. That sort of result is possible with adults, he said.

One of the questions from the audience was about the successful programs on the island.

Roth was complimentary of Leilani Estates in Puna.

He said that over a decade ago the community was the “worst on the island.” Burglaries were a weekly occurrence and other crimes were rampant.

But the locals’ decision to start a neighborhood watch and keep at it made the difference, Roth said.

Officers were constantly being called down for some time, he said, but the combined community and law enforcement efforts has turned it into one of the safest areas on the island.

“You don’t have to face the criminal element alone,” Roth said.

By working together it makes it difficult for criminals to target any one person, he said.

But retaliation cases against witnesses are very rare, he said. In his years on the island he can only think of a few.

That’s critical, he said, because so many people will refuse to act as witnesses, making convictions difficult or impossible.

Officer Kuilee Dela Cruz said he’s seen that happen when a burglary strikes a neighbor. The person will have information but refuse to tell officers about it.

Officer William Kafe Vickery is one of the community police officers who was present at the meeting. He made the parallel of the three officers present at the meeting against the small crowd present. This proportion is even more tilted toward the public in normal life, he said.

The goal is “… so your kids can play in the streets like we did growing up,” he said.

Roth said that many crimes are done by the same criminals, with 42 percent committed against 10 percent of the victims and 10 percent of the locations have 60 percent of law enforcement calls. As a result the enforcement made possible by Neighborhood Watch can push the criminals into jail. It can also make an area very unwelcome to criminals, who will find the area too risky to target.

“You can’t let these scrubs run your life,” Sabati said.

The local watch will hold a special meeting for people interested in the group from 7 to 8 p.m. Aug. 13 at the Kealakehe Intermediate School.

People interested in starting a new group or unsure of who the local leader is should contact the police department at 326-4646, ext. 259.