• An undercurrent of lawlessness • Accountability crucial An undercurrent of lawlessness I read with interest, frustration and concern, the recent Letter to the Editor by Stuart Greenwood of San Diego, Calif., dated July 30, 2010. Mr. Greenwood was lamenting
• An undercurrent of lawlessness • Accountability crucial
An undercurrent of lawlessness
I read with interest, frustration and concern, the recent Letter to the Editor by Stuart Greenwood of San Diego, Calif., dated July 30, 2010. Mr. Greenwood was lamenting the fact that he had observed several cars at Ke‘e Beach that had their windows deliberately broken by vandals.
Unfortunately, this is an all too common occurrence on Kaua‘i, happening at all beaches, parking lots, homes, rental properties, and anywhere else where cars are parked, especially the obvious rental care with the “bar code” in the window. Property crimes and breaking into tourist cars are an all too common theme on Kauai.
Most municipalities have found a common sense solution to this deviant crime: situate “bait” cars in high crime areas, set up motion detection cameras, have surveillance officers observing the cars, and then arrest the criminals as the crime occurs. I guarantee you, once the word gets around that a car may be a “bait” car, and once a few of these “local” common thieves are apprehended, then these crimes would decrease.
However, there is another disturbing artifact at work here. The “local police” and “local justice system” choose to look the other way. They do not want to disturb the “local” population nor deal with the potential “backwash” of arresting the “local boys”. Locals are consistently given a free pass when it comes to crimes against tourists or Mainlanders.
As a frequent visitor and substantial property tax payer on Kaua‘i, I always advise potential visitors to Kaua‘i about the hazards of traveling to Kaua‘i. This includes the unpredictable nature of our ocean and yes, the local disdain for tourists, Mainlanders, and the potential of accompanying crime.
Until our local police is staffed by individuals who value the law over the local mores, nothing will change. There is an undercurrent of lawlessness on Kaua‘i. This presents a very sad state of affairs because now, more than ever, the tourist dollar drives this economy and keeps many “locals” employed.
Donald Newman, Wailua Bay View
Accountability crucial
I am so sorry for what Julia Owens family had to go through and are still going through (“Angry and disgusted,” Letters, July 28).
Courageously, Mrs. Owens is trying to make us all aware of this judicial system’s shameful judgments which put us all in danger. What happened to the Owens family could very well happen to any of us.
The lax slap-on-the-wrist sentences for violent crimes, be it human or animal abuse, give the perpetrators the impression that there will be little risk of being punished. It sends the message that, as a community, we are indifferent to acts of violence against our members. It lets the community down, it let their families down. It’s negligence.
There are angry emotionally abusive parents in our community raising even angrier children and the cycle isn’t likely to be broken without intervention by the courts.
Mandatory anger management/conflict resolution classes in schools would help at a critical stage for young people who are being raised under these circumstances. Learning about empathy and treating others with concern and respect should be taught at home; but clearly some parents can’t or won’t teach these basic life skills. Consequently, we need to rely on our schools to mold young children into good citizens. Yes, the schools have a heavy burden already, but these basic human skills will serve the child and the community even more than the “3Rs” they are getting now. If children can’t learn empathy, tolerance and respect for others, their quality of life will be that much poorer, as will the lives of those with whom they interact.
When we look around us, we all recognize problem families in our community. Yet the institutions charged with the duty (we thought) to intercede or offer assistance, seem unable or unwilling to act. This paper recently published a letter from a reader who had experienced this failure first hand: she tried desperately to get the police or the child welfare agency to do something about an abused neighborhood child to no avail. Neglecting this child now will ensure that the community has one more future angry, non-productive and potentially dangerous citizen.
Intervene early and often! Hold them accountable!
Punish child and animal abusers (future human abusers) to the full extent of the law. The message our courts, prosecutors and police are sending is that abusers are not held accountable so what they are doing is OK. These criminals are not going to change their behavior on their own and many will likely continue to escalate their violence – putting their families and the community at risk.
When will we decide to have a judicial system that put responsibility for the safety of the community first? Write to the governor, to your representatives to the prosecutors and let them know you want changes.
Sue Scott, Wailua
