HANALEI — Early one morning in mid-2010, Richard Parks’ wife got out of bed to use the restroom when she discovered two unexpected visitors. “She said, ‘What are you guys doing in our house?’” Parks recalled. “I don’t think she
HANALEI — Early one morning in mid-2010, Richard Parks’ wife got out of bed to use the restroom when she discovered two unexpected visitors.
“She said, ‘What are you guys doing in our house?’” Parks recalled. “I don’t think she really truly expected an answer.”
Parks, who owns a rifle, chased the men, but they quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Soon after, the retired football coach helped create the Hanalei North Weke Road Neighborhood Watch program. It contains 82 properties and 41 people attended its first meeting last year.
“You watch each other’s back,” Parks said.
While he and neighbors are doing what they can to protect their homes, burglary remains rampant in the area, Parks said.
“Right now there’s over 20 in this segment of Hanalei town,” Parks said. “That’s a lot.”
The break-ins have included homes, vacation rentals and vehicles on Weke and Aku roads.
“A lot of these places get hit in the middle of the day,” Parks said.
Police confirmed they are investigating four that occurred in Hanalei, with one on Weke Road on April 16, another on Aku Road on April 18, and two more the following day on the same road.
On Monday, police detained an Anahola teen in connection with an April 4 burglary in the same area. According to a county press release, police responded to a burglary in the Anahola area last Wednesday when an officer observed a teenage boy walking near the burglarized home holding an iPad.
The officer identified the iPad as one of the items stolen from a home on Weke Road. The 15-year-old was held on charges of first-degree burglary and second-degree theft. Police are continuing to investigate if the recovered items may be connected with other thefts in the Anahola or Hanalei areas.
County spokeswoman Sarah Blane said the Hanalei residents have expressed their concern to the Kaua‘i Police Department, which is working with the neighborhood watch group to address the issue. Officers also attended a neighborhood watch meeting at the Hanalei Pavilion on April 19. Councilmen Mel Rapozo and KipuKai Kuali‘i, along with other representatives of the county.
“We’re trying like hell to get a better relationship with the police department,” Parks said.
However, he fears that low numbers on the police force are part of the problem. At a recent budget review session, police said they have 18 vacancies for funded positions.
“A lot of work falls on the shoulders of a few,” Parks said.
More people in the community are considering buying a gun to protect their homes and property from the burglars. Parks said he knows who some of them are and is sure they are repeat offenders.
“The judicial system is so weak … and then they’re released to do the same thing again,” Parks said.
While Parks attributed the problem to drugs, Blane said KPD has no reason to believe that the incidents are drug-related.
Rapozo, the chairman for the Public Safety and Environmental Service council committees, said the crimes are connected to the depressed economy.
“Anytime the economy dips, obviously drug use on the island is high — it’s a combination of things,” Rapozo said.
“I think we’ve got to take individual responsibility and protect ourselves as far as (our) properties.”
Rapozo said he understands the residents’ concerns about burglaries and feels creating a neighborhood watch group is a step in the right direction.
“Unfortunately, it’s not unique to Hanalei,” Rapozo said of the burglaries. “We’re seeing it all over the island.”
It doesn’t help, Rapozo added, that on the North Shore, only two officers cover the area up to Moloa‘a bridge.
“We have 10 patrol officers covering our whole island,” he said. “That in itself creates a problem with coverage.”
Still, police have managed to halt similar crimes in the past. In May 2010, Brad K. Kubisch, the last of a three-person crime ring, pleaded guilty to multiple car thefts and burglaries across the island around the 2009 holidays. Li‘i Cook and Chelsie Banasihan were sentenced on similar charges.
The following is a list of tips from the Kaua‘i PoliceDepartment on how to protect your home from burglaries:
• Make sure door and window locks work properly. Use them whenyou are away and when you are at home, especially before bed.
• Place physical obstructions, such as wood dowels, in slidingwindow and door tracks to secure them better, even if it is on anupper floor.
• Trim shrubs and hedges around your house so burglars don’thave a place to hide.
• Never hide your house key outside.
• Install motion detection lighting around exterior dark areas,walkways and doorways.
• If you can afford it, install a security system.
• If you valet your car, use a separate key ring for parkingthat does not have hold your house key. A car key can be copiedwithin a few minutes and your home address can be found on your carregistration.
• If you move into a new house or apartment, have the lockschanged immediately.
• If you lose any copy of your house key, have your lockschanged.
• Form alliances with neighbors to keep an eye out for eachother such as the Neighborhood Watch Program.
• Report any suspicious activity to the Kaua‘i Police Departmentat 241-1711 or Crime Stoppers at 241-1887.
