Kokua Line
By June Watanabe
Tuesday, November 24, 1998
Kokua Line
A year or so ago, I remember reading about a Japanese company buying bicycles for our police department to use in Ala Moana Park. I saw them for a while. Now everyday I see people feeding the birds with bags of seed, people walking their dogs and permanent residents in the park. Has the bike patrol been deleted? Also what happened to the in-line skate patrol? Police patrols remain
active at Ala Moana ParkBoth police bike patrols and volunteer citizen skate patrols continue to make the rounds at Ala Moana Park.
You probably haven't seen officers on bikes around as much for the last month or so because they also have been deployed to the Chinatown area, said Lt. Kevin Lima, of the Honolulu Police Department's District One.
Bike patrols at Ala Moana Park began in May 1997, with bikes donated by the Japan Hawaii Travel Association.
In the past, there were many complaints about blaring radios, dogs (prohibited) and various traffic violations -- basically the "quality of life" irritants -- as well as safety issues, Lima noted.
"Our case load and traffic enforcement has subsided significantly because it's not a hangout anymore for people engaged in illegal activities," he said.
Typically, there are five officers riding bikes through the park at any given time, as well as officers in vehicles.
At times, however, "We have to shift resources to wherever they're needed," as in the Chinatown area, Lima said. So, "Our presence in the last month (at Ala Moana) has been less, but it will be stepped up."
Meanwhile, the in-line skate patrol is also in full gear, said Sgt. Lester Hite, of HPD District One's community policing division.
The local patrol is affiliated with the nonprofit International In-line Skating Association's National Skate Patrol, said patrol coordinator Virginia "Ginny" Hench.
The Ala Moana patrol began in June 1997 with help from City Councilman Andy Mirikitani's office, Hite said. Volunteers were briefed on the concept of citizen patrols, which are to be nonconfrontational and act as added eyes and ears for police, he said.
Participants are given cellular phones programmed to dial only 911 and are trained on being viable witnesses: how to describe a suspect from head to toe, what information to get, etc., Hite said.
About a dozen volunteers regularly show up on weekends and afternoons to patrol the park.
Besides being a citizens' police patrol, "We're there as a goodwill and safety patrol," Hench said. "We assist (skating) beginners. Most of us are trained in CPR and some in first aid so that, in an emergency, we can help out."
Volunteers are always needed, she said. The next training session is scheduled for Dec. 5. Call Hench at 956-6547 or 371-0907.
How do I get my name taken out of the city directory?
The Honolulu City Directory is published by R.L. Polk & Co. of Michigan.
To get your name removed, write to the company at 1505 Dillingham Blvd., Suite 209, Honolulu 96817. Give the information that is listed in the directory and say you do not want that information published, said Lianne Ranne, spokeswoman for the company.
The information then will be forwarded to Polk offices in Traverse City, Mich.
Polk no longer does door-to-door canvassing to get information and instead, now relies solely on public sources such as telephone books, she said. "We just scan it and that's how they get in."
If your name is publicly listed somewhere, you may have to request not being listed in the Polk directory every year, Ranne said. Call the Honolulu office at 842-7655 for more information.
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com
