HPD called its strategy to combat smash-and-grabs a success. Experts say follow-up is key
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A large HPD operation meant to combat destructive smash-and-grab burglaries netted 144 arrests, but many of them were for unrelated charges.
After HPD Chief Joe Logan called the recent crackdown a success, and HPD said smash-and-grabs are down on Oahu, HNN Investigates dug into the numbers to understand the strategy.
Meanwhile, experts say follow-up and transparency are key.
To be sure, the damage left behind by smash-and-grab thieves can be devastating.
Surveillance video captured Mar. 14 shows criminals using a stolen excavator to uproot the ATM at the American Savings Bank in Kapolei, causing a portion of the drive-thru to collapse.
HNN Investigates
It’s one of dozens of commercial burglaries that happened on Oahu in the last seven months.
Between Oct. 10, 2023 and Jan. 21, 2024 there were 78 smash-and-grab burglaries islandwide.
The crime wave prompted many business owners to demand action from HPD.
The department responded by conducting an islandwide operation from Jan. 22 to Feb. 16 to crack down on smash-and-grab thieves. In early March, Logan briefed the Honolulu Police Commission and called the action extremely successful.
“They made 74 arrests and 193 charges in the Regional Patrol Bureau. So that’s everything outside Central Honolulu and East Honolulu. And then 70 arrests and 149 charges in the Central Patrol Bureau,” Logan told police commissioners.
That statement prompted HNN Investigates to ask HPD for a list of charges the suspects face.
Initially, the department said “the arrests were not tracked or compiled by category.”
But with help from the Public First Law Center, HPD eventually turned over a list of charges two months after our initial request. Retired HPD Deputy Chief John McCarthy reviewed them and said it “seems like a stretch to say that all these arrests were related to that crime series.”
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Records show HPD made just four second-degree burglary arrests during its entire smash-and-grab operation. There were also a few dozen charges related to stolen vehicles and criminal property damage that McCarthy said might be directly related.
However, HNN Investigates found that the vast majority of the charges were for warrants, protective order violations and drug crimes. Also included were things like driving without a license, DUI, attempted murder, sex assault, traffic and bicycle violations, even child abuse.
“How do you connect them to the crime series or the suspects,” McCarthy asked.
We asked the department to explain in an on-camera interview.
Instead, HPD spokesperson Sarah Yoro wrote in a statement:
“The patrol districts used an indirect but coordinated crime-fighting strategy deploying plain clothes officers to various business areas during the hours the break-ins were most likely to occur. While surveilling these areas the officers witnessed burglaries and other criminal activity.”
McCarthy said the strategy points to “intelligence-led policing,” where an agency will “go after the bad guys. You may not get them on the crimes that they’re necessarily committing like in this case, smash-and-grabs, but you get them that hold and you incarcerate them.”
McCarthy added that in this case, many of the charges suspects were arrested for would have them back on the street in a few days.
HPD also told Hawaii News Now in its statement that, “After the operation commenced, the number of smash-and-grab business break-ins fell to nearly zero.” HNN Investigates wanted to know how many of these destructive burglaries have occurred since its operation. HPD didn’t provide specifics, saying “we have not seen a return to the number of incidents seen earlier.”
Meanwhile, clearance rates for burglaries overall are extremely low.
According to HPD’s website, so far this year 94% of burglaries have gone unsolved.
Last year, 93% of all burglaries on Oahu went unsolved.
Liam Chinn, a public safety consultant who facilitates the Reimagining Public Safety in Hawai’i Coalition, said the devil is often in the details when it comes to crime statistics and campaigns.
“Data is important because we’re going to be able to gauge performance and most importantly improve performance,” he told HNN Investigates. Without good data, it’s not clear “whether we’re going in the right direction or need to take a different turn,.”
Chinn added being transparent about what’s happening in the community is to the department’s advantage. “It will build public trust and true accountability,” he said.
Something else to keep in mind: Crime trends are constantly changing. Think catalytic converter thefts. A couple years ago it was a major problem, but not so much today.
To dissuade burglaries, HPD encourages business owners to have a security system that includes cameras, audible alarms and 911 notification. Good perimeter and interior lighting and reinforced glass are also recommended when possible. Businesses that are in commercial areas that hire private security should discuss security concerns with the property manager.
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