City halfway through sweeping overhaul of Chinatown security camera system
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - If you’re in the Chinatown area of Honolulu, chances are you’ll be on a camera — one of the new security cameras that are being installed to replace an aging system that largely stopped working years ago.
Thirty of the 60 high-resolution cameras have been installed so far. The estimated cost for the full system is $980,000, with $450,000 coming from federal, state and local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
The city said they’re a big improvement over the old analogue system installed more than 25 years ago.
One of the new cameras is on the corner of Maunakea and Pauahi Streets. “Right in front of my big open door,” said Sam Say.
Say co-owns M.P. Lei Shop. He remembers the old camera system when it was first installed. The cameras were occasionally monitored by police or volunteers in Chinatown.
“There’s a guy in the middle of the road, he’s dancing, he’s jumping,” he recalled telling an officer at the Chinatown police substation, a block down from his shop. “And the police officer said, ‘Oh yeah, I saw him.’ But then maybe a few years later when the second time I went back, and the said, ‘oh, that camera’s not working any more.’”
By 2021, 20 of the 26 cameras were inoperable.
The new cameras are high-tech. They can looking 360 degrees and can track movement. They also have LED lights and sirens. The city said HPD can make announcements through a speaker system, and the digital recording is stored for 30 days.
“If a major crime is done, some type of shooting or murder, it’s caught on camera. And that’s the main thing,” said Ernest Caravalho, chair of the Chinatown Neighborhood Board.
“As long as they can use that as evidence in the courtrooms, I’m happy,” he added.
“I think its’ a great initiative, but you know, the bottom line question is will it be a deterrent to all that’s happening in Chinatown, like the last incident, where the guy whacks the guy with a stick?” asked Wes Fong, the Chinatown Outreach Task Force Chair for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.
Fong was referring to an incident, caught on a cellphone camera, near the Kekaulike Mall last week Wednesday. The chamber said the victim was a 75 year-old Chinatown businessman. He had recovered a bag of rice that the attacker had stolen from him earlier. The chamber said the victim was recovering.
“Let’s assume there was a camera that was operational. Would it have curtailed that incident?” Fong asked.
HPD’s Criminal Investigation Division said there was a working camera there. A spokeswoman said a 52-year-old man was arrested Thursday in connection with the attack and faces second-degree assault and other charges. He’s being held on $20,000 bail.
The city did fund a Chinatown Task Force that increased the police presence and led to a drop in drug and misdemeanor crimes.
HPD said it’s still working on plans for camera monitoring. Merchants said it is giving them a higher sense of security.
“We’re very happy that we have one in front of our store, yes,” said Say.
The city said it plans to have the remaining 30 cameras installed by the end of the year.
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