Compared to the same time last year, the number of reported crimes at HPU has decreased by nearly 50 percent.
Christopher Martin, Director of Security at Hawaiian Pacific University (HPU), keeps track of every reported crime at HPU. By October 1st every year, he gathers all the numbers into a security report. This report gets delivered to The Federal Government.
The director confirms that there is a nearly 50 percent decrease in the number of reported crimes compared to the same period in 2023.
– It is something I take pride in, that I can see how our trend is going down, Martin says.
More aware
The director thinks the reasons behind the drastic decrease are several. Firstly, he claims that they have become better at being present among the students.
– I also think students are more aware of their surroundings. I think that is a good thing, he continues.
HPU-student Lauren Harris confirms the directors theory.
– I would say I feel safe. As long as you are smart about it, she answers the journalist.
Harris stands together with her friends at Waterfront Plaza Campus. All of them have heard stories about other students being chased by homeless or someone having their moped being stolen. But the overall feeling of safety in the friend group have remained the same.
Will respond immediately
“SafeWalk” is another safety measure HPU offer students who feel unsafe walking around on campus. When calling the Aloha Tower Security Operations Center at 544-1400, a uniformed officer will come follow you to the destination you are going.
Harris has earlier taken advantage of the school’s “SafeWalk”-service.
– There were two creepy men hiding under a van in the parking lot. So we used “SafeWalk” and the came to us, checked it out and told us to go, she tells Kalamalama.
– They came pretty fast, and I felt safer, she continues.
Martin says to the newspaper that they have a fair amount of requests for “SafeWalk” – especially at the start of the semester.
– If you see something wrong, let us know. We will respond right away, he says.
Moped stolen twice
Even though the numbers of crimes have decreased, HPU still has concerns regarding crime. Martin points out bike and moped thefts as one of the biggest. They have therefore repositioned security offers to the bike and moped area, as well as adding a moped safety briefing on “Orientation Day” in August.
However, the German HPU-student Dmitrij Maltsev had to learn it the hard way. On his first day with the moped, he forgot to lock it when he went shopping at Walmart. When he came back to the parking lot after about 20 minutes, the moped was stolen.
Maltsev then called 911 and got help from the Police who found the moped later the same evening. The following day, Maltsev had to come pick it up for 150 dollars. The moped was damaged and broken, so the German also had to have it repaired.
– After that, I bought a new lock, locked it at my place, and then went away for two or three days. When I came back, it was stolen again.
Maltsev repeated the same procedure calling the Police. They found the moped two hours later, again broken.
– Summed up, I had to pay 150 dollars twice, plus all the repairments. It was not a good experience, he tells Kalamalama.
As a consequence of these incidents, Maltsev has decided to no longer drive the moped to school.
– It annoys me a little bit. You buy a moped to be flexible, but then you always have a feeling that you have to be careful, he says dejectedly.
Low threshold
Also Ella Schoene, in the friend group at Waterfront Plaza, has experienced something similar. At her freshmen-year, someone broke into her car and stole several volleyball-jerseys and an iPad.
When she called Security the next day, they told her and her friends that there were no cameras, so they couldn’t do anything about it.
– It was a “freshmen-parking” – an overnight-parking at Aloha Tower Marketplace. You can do that, but then do not leave valuables in the car, Schoene advices.
Looking into the Police’s crime-map, they report that several motor vehicles is stolen from areas near HPU’s campus-grounds. One vehicle is reported stolen from Aloha Tower Marketplace, one near Pioneer Plaza and two near Waterfront Plaza.
Martin emphasizes again that there is a low threshold for contacting Security when there is a point of concern. Although, he cannot promise to always give the answer you want.
– But it does not help us if you see something and keep it to yourself, he concludes.
Kalamalama has not succeeded in getting a comment from the Honolulu Police Department.
