The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-11-23
II II Il
Pacific Commercial Advertiser
MONDAY
November 23d
ABOUT POLICE PROTECTION.

A great deal has been said and written
about the police, and complaints, in most
cases just, have been made regarding
the insufficiency of police protection. 1t
is admitted that there is total absence
of such protection in the suburban dis
tricts, where thieves and burglars ply
their vocation unmolested. OF course
this state OF things must not be allowed
to continue, otherwise the lawless ele-
ment would become bolder, and highway
robberies accompanied by violence might
soon be added to the list of unpublished
crimes in Honolulu. Nor are these COM
plants confined to this city. They come
by every mail from the neighboring
Islands, showing that very considera-
BILE number Of criminals are at large in
the Kingdom.
How to remedy this state of things is
the problem. Increased police protec
ton means increased expenditure, and
this involves increased taxation if it is
to be at all effective. A correspondent
who has suffered from the visits OF mid
night marauders suggests that police
patrol should be organized for the sub
urbs, and we agree with him that it is
necessary. 1t would check somewhat
the tendency towards the commission of
a particular class of crime, and should
also assist materially in the work of de-
lection The detective branch of the
service appears to be weak or overtaxed
fC
that the latter is the true reason, and
that the opium law is mainly responsible
for the apparent inefficiency of the de-
tective branch of the police department.
The detectives are fully occupied in run
ming down opium smuggling, and this
viii continue to be the case while the
law in question remains on the statute
book as legal challenge to the cupidity
of the educated moral class" as well
as to the Chinese who are mainly the
consumers of opium. Were this law re-
pealed, the decentralization of the police
and surrounding social forces as well,
might be overcome; until then, we fear
the task is hopeless one.
Nevertheless it is the duty of the au-
thorities to do the best they can with the
tools at their disposal. We are clearly
of opinion that better work might be got
from the present force without increased
expenditure The officers should patrol
their "beats'' or circuits, and these might
be extended considerably. The great
city of San Francisco, including its vast
suburbs and seven miles of water front,
is patrolled night and day by force of
400 men, from which total strength
at least fifty must be deducted for special
duty, which does not leave them availa
able for police work. Now, if this can be
done in San Francisco, equally good
work could be done here. There are Off
GERS in the Mission, Western Addition
and North Beach region, who sever
ally patrol at least a four mile circuit Of
roads and streets every night where the
most desperate criminals may be en-
countered. Occasionally an officer is
murdered, but as a rule they maintain
order, and burgIaries and chicken raids
are not frequent. The reason is, the men
are always on the move, and are well
armed and sustained by strong public
opinion.
1t might perhaps be too much to ex-
pect as efficient police protection here as
in San Francisco, although there is
nothing in our social condition to pre-
vent IT.: but we might have a very much