Honolulu's Waikiki Beach seems idyllic to many visitors, but crime concerns in the surrounding area grow at night, local officials say. (Reuters)
A spike in violent crime in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu has the U.S. military mulling a plan to keep service personnel away from the area.
On Thursday, a 25-year-old service member was stabbed in the early morning hours, after parting ways with a friend, and in October two service members were stabbed -- with one of them dying from his wounds, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
"Between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m., it's a dangerous time to be walking alone in Waikiki," Jessica Lani Rich, president and CEO of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, told the newspaper. "We need to make Waikiki safe at all hours."
"Between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m., it's a dangerous time to be walking alone in Waikiki. We need to make Waikiki safe at all hours."
The latest assault coincides with a dramatic increase in Waikiki’s overall crime, the newspaper reported, notng that last week local leaders -- including law enforcement, military leaders and judiciary personnel – met to discuss ways to improve public safety.
"We'll look for the low-hanging fruit – things that we can implement immediately," Mufi Hannemann, president of the Honolulu Lodging and Tourism Association, told the paper.
In addition, the Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board has weighed banning military officers from patronizing parts of Waikiki.
According to a military advisory, 1,000 arrests in Waikiki over 180 days involved violent crimes, drugs, and alcohol, the Star-Advertiser reported.
The Honolulu Police Department said that between December and January they saw increases in both assaults and in calls for service.
The conference of officials plans to meet again Wednesday to discuss possible steps against crime.
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