Honolulu Police Department is adding dozens of extra police officers to westside patrols

Dozens of additional police officers are now patrolling West Oahu in an effort to increase the police department’s presence and deter crime after an uptick of violence in the area.

The reserve officers will be stationed at crime “hot spots,” including beach parks, the Waianae Boat Harbor and around shopping centers, Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan said after a town hall on public safety at Nanakuli High School on Monday night.

Some reserve officers will also be patrolling the valleys to increase visibility there, he said.

Logan said the additional officers began patrolling in the District 8 area late last week. He did not want to say specifically how many officers would be on the streets but said the number is between eight and 20 per shift, depending on how many sign up.

But Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who has been meeting in recent days with Logan and other officials, said around 12 reserve officers per shift will be sent to District 8, which stretches from Ewa Beach to Kaena Point.

Reserve officers, many of whom are retired police officers, are fully qualified to perform police duties and work a minimum of 20 hours every month, according to HPD.

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Logan said the department has nearly 200 reserve officers, around 100 of whom drive their own subsidized vehicles.

City officials have been under immense pressure to increase resources to the Westside as violence has noticeably increased in the past few months.

A shooting on Waianae Valley Road on Aug. 31 left four people dead after a neighborhood dispute escalated.

There were two attempted murders in Makaha and Maili the following week, according to HPD.

Three shootings occurred in the span of a week in early August on the Westside, prompting state and city officials to hold a press conference on Aug. 16 promising to send additional law enforcement officers to the Waianae Coast.

But staffing levels didn’t remain consistent. Logan said during a previous press conference that the district was not fully staffed the weekend of the Waianae Valley Road shooting.

The increased presence of reserve officers in District 8 will continue through the end of the year, at which point the department will assess whether more time is needed, Logan said.

HPD Maj. Gail Beckley, who oversees District 8, said she hopes the reservists will help deter crime and also put community members at ease.

“We had a lot of violent crime in a short period of time,” she said. “Our goal is to try to make the community feel safe again.”

Logan also said he wants to increase the number of full-time officers assigned to the Westside, though declined to say exactly how many additional officers he thinks the region needs.

Currently, the district is usually staffed with 19 to 23 officers per shift, according to Blangiardi. There are two, 13-hour shifts per day.

But District 8 also has the most vacancies of any district with around 68 unfilled positions, according to the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers.

Beckley said with more staff, her officers could spend more time on important community programs, like DARE, a police program that helps educate young students about the dangers of drugs and how to deal with problems like peer pressure and bullying.

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This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.