PARK POLICY WOULD HELP HPD CURB ICE

Thanks for your coverage on the City Council proposal of park closure policies
to curtail illegal activities.

My family lives near Haha'ione Valley Neighborhood Park, and we have seen, and
heard, late-night parties involving alcohol, marijuana and ice at the park.
When called, the HPD has done an excellent job at promptly responding to
neighbors' complaints and politely sending the partygoers on their way.

However, the HPD is hamstrung when it actually comes to enforcement of our
anti-drug and anti-alcohol laws. An officer recently explained to me that
unless he actually witnessed someone smoking crack or ice or whatever, he could
not act on a phone tip.

Having a regulated park closure could conceivably give the police probable
cause to initiate search and seizure for contraband after hours --
theoretically enabling them to get the drunks and the iceheads off the streets
and to a safer place for everyone: jail.

Arguments that such a regulation would infringe on our public rights to enjoy
the parks at whatever time we wish are silly. We all know the police are
stretched way too thin to bother peaceful, law-abiding citizens involved in
harmless activities, such as stargazing.

I suspect all opponents to the proposal live far enough away from parks to have
never been bothered by the drunks and the drugged during their late-night
activities.

Perhaps when the time comes, we should elect others who care more about our
community's health and well-being and less about some misguided intellectual
ideals about "freedom" without its necessary corollary: responsibility.

Robert Frankel

Hawai'i Kai