This North Shore season set to be the greatest
since '13!
I love Oahu’s North Shore as much as I love any
place on earth. I love it its grocery store, its Spam musubi, its
playful waves that explode in height and girth without a warning
but mostly love its residents. There is no place with finer folk
and for ten months out of the year they get to live in peace but
for two months out of the year hell cometh to their North Shore,
wearing a Neff hat and shouting, “Hey bro…” or “Hey mate…” instead
of the traditionally accepted “Ho brah…”
Traffic, long lines at Starbucks, longer lines trying to get
haupia pie, the longest lines trying to order up the delicious
escargot at Lei Lei’s. It’s an ugly scourge, an annoying bummer but
now, apparently, there is also an uptick in violence to go along
with the simple crowding. Oahu’s police do not like to go to the
North Shore and held a community meeting recently, suggesting that
residents should take up their pitchforks and police their own
damned street. Let’s read about it!
Honolulu Police want new neighborhood security watches along
the North Shore of O’ahu and police presented their plan to
residents Wednesday night.
Many residents expressed their concerns about response times
by police at the meeting which took place at the Sunset Beach
Recreation Center.
Residents told KITV4 Island News that crimes like thefts,
break-ins, and some more serious offenses like gun violence are
becoming such large problems for the North Shore, that it prompted
one of the most well-attended community meetings ever.
Honolulu Police officers from the Wahiawa substation gave a
presentation about starting up a neighborhood community watch,
saying that residents need to work with HPD to report and catch
criminals.
Many of those in attendance to the Wednesday night meeting
like the idea of community policing, some have even put up these
signs created by former professional surfer Liam McNamara to warn
offenders that people are watching them.
However, one area resident wants to see improvement is in
the response time from police before a suspect flees the
scene.
“But the reality is different from we’ll come and take care
of it. What happens is that doesn’t happen,” North Shore resident
Susanne Dahl said.
One police officer responded that HPD cannot condone
violence, and that they are advocating the North Shore Neighborhood
Security Watch be non-confrontational.
The officers stressed they don’t want vigilantes seeking out
offenders and taking justice into their own hands.
Officers also brought up how they only have about a dozen
guys in this district on duty at any given time, which can make
getting to some calls a challenge.
I’m seriously moving because have always dreamed of being part
of a vigilante mob but never quite found one that worked for me. I
wrote about the 2013 (or maybe 2011/12) North Shore season and
thought that was best on record (buy here!) but
2018/19 is shaping up very nicely.
