HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A regular visitor of the Halona Blowhole Lookout, East Oahu resident Paul Keel is well aware of the numerous vehicle break-ins that plagued the popular sightseeing location for years.
“It was really heartbreaking to see people who had their personal items stolen,” Keel said. “It could’ve been wallets, passports, those type of things that sometimes, that’s really hard to replace.”
Keel explained he’d often encounter evidence of the crimes, “Windows would be completely shattered and on the ground, the glass would be there for at least a week or two.”
Less than a mile away, California visitor Chis Camilli pointed to fragments of glass scattered across the parking lot of another heavily-visited tourist attraction, Lanai Lookout.
“There is almost more broken glass than there is stones in this parking lot,” Camilli said.
Against the picturesque backdrop of Waimanalo’s sandy coastline, the parking lot at Makapuu Lookout also glistens with bits of glass.
At all three lookouts, the Honolulu Police Department reported it would receive calls for about 50 to 80 break-ins a month.
But the rampant crimes came to a sudden halt after HPD began using a surveillance camera at each location at the end of August, the department claims.
“After the cameras were deployed, the car break-ins were zero,” HPD assistant chief Brian Lynch said.
Mounted on a trailer and standing more than 20 feet tall, the night-vision cameras are equipped with thermal imaging and can broadcast voice announcements in the event of a weather emergency.
“Absolutely, we can say that the zero break-ins at the locations are because of the trailers, absolutely, no doubt about it,” Lynch added.
Keel also noticed a difference after the cameras went live.
“I come out here often, I come out here at least once or twice a week, and since the cameras went up, I don’t see any of the broken glass from broken windows from cars that have been broken into,” Keel said.
Under a six-month pilot program, each camera costs more than $21,000 to lease from surveillance company LiveView Technologies.
Lynch said the agreement allows the department to free up more resources, rather than stationing officers at each lookout.
“Take those three officers, I could put them somewhere in somebody’s neighborhood, they can catch somebody breaking into somebody’s house, or doing traffic enforcement on the freeway,” Lynch explained.
Given the program’s success, Lynch added that the department wants to add more cameras island-wide.
“We’ve kind of been behind the times, but we’re just catching up now to mainland trends. It’s a viable option for us to use. So in the end, I think it’s going to be great for all of the communities,” Lynch said.
The six-month pilot ends in February, and Lynch said HPD will continue to work with the city council to determine whether funding is available to expand it.
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