ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM IN HONOLULU MAY EXPAND

HONOLULU (AP) -- A federal law-enforcement program credited with reducing
drugs and crimes in several Oahu communities may be expanded to Ala Moana
and Kalihi Valley, organizers said.

A plan to extend the Weed & Seed program into the Ala Moana area would be an
extension of the current Kalihi-Palama/Chinatown program, said Maile
Kanemaru, executive director of Hawaii Weed & Seed.

The program has also had success in Waipahu.

Much of the crime in the Ala Moana area is associated with the large number
of bars, strip clubs and gaming rooms along Keeaumoku and Sheridan streets,
said state Rep. Ken Hiraki, D-Kakaako-Downtown Honolulu.

''We are comparing ourselves with Kalihi, which you think of as having a lot
of problems, but when you look at the statistics our area has more crime,''
Hiraki said.

A map created by the Ala Moana Neighborhood Board shows crime concentrated
around the bars and clubs.

''Because of these establishments, people come into this area and then we
have problems,'' Hiraki said. ''We are hoping that similar results in crime
reduction that happened in the Chinatown area can happen down here.''

Police say the number of major offenses in the Ala Moana area is greater in
every category than in the proposed Weed & Seed expansion area of Kalihi.

The number of crimes is not the sole criteria for receiving the Weed & Seed
designation from the U.S. Justice Department -- community involvement and
organization also weigh heavily in the decision.

Weed & Seed in Hawaii started in 1998 in Kalihi-Palama/Chinatown, which has
seen a 70 percent drop in crime in the past four years. Drug crimes at the
Waipahu site, which began in late 2000, have fallen by 78 percent. A third
Oahu site, the Ewa Weed & Seed site, started just last week.

Nationally more than 351 sites in 46 states are part of the program, which
is a coordinated effort among city, state and federal law-enforcement
agencies and residents to target violent crime, drug abuse and gang
activity.

The program relies on the community and on tough legal penalties to ''weed
out'' crime, then applies crime prevention, intervention, treatment and
neighborhood revitalization to ''seed'' a safer community.

Communities on the Big Island, Kauai, Lanai and Molokai have also held
meetings to look into joining the program.

The final decision rests with the Justice Department in Washington, Kanemaru
said.