Homelessness is No. 1 public safety issue in Waikiki, Honolulu police chief says

Honolulu Police Department Chief Susan Ballard pledged to improve public safety by working with Waikiki stakeholders to make the state’s top tourism district “uncomfortable” for homeless people.

Ballard gave the keynote speech Thursday at a Visitor Public Safety Conference held at the Waikiki Prince Hotel. The event was sponsored by the Hawaii Lodging &Tourism Association, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Waikiki Improvement Association, Waikiki Business Improvement District Association and Hawaii Hotel Visitor Industry Security Association.

Ballard told some 200 conference attendees that she knew their “No. 1 issue, without even asking, is homelessness.”

Waikiki Neighborhood Board Chairman Bob Finley agreed, saying he recently got a call from a 92-year-old woman complaining about homeless people blocking the steps to her building. Finley said he also gets complaints about homeless people “moving their bowels on the beach” or “screaming obscenities.”

Read more: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/03/29/hawaii-news/homelessness-dominates-public-safety-concerns-at-waikiki-conference/