By Peter Boylan
The state is pitching a plan to Waikiki hotels and businesses that would allow real-time access to the footage from their private security cameras to help monitor crime and maintain public safety.
If enough businesses buy in to the agreement, the state Department of Law Enforcement will make a “significant investment” in license plate readers, drones and additional cameras to areas that are not currently covered, Director Mike Lambert told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
State officials are in the pitch phase of the project and hope to be actively engaged in memorandum of agreement discussions in the coming weeks.
The Safety Via Technology initiative, referred to as SVT, and partnerships with private businesses is used in cities such as San Francisco and Miami and is being explored in other tourist hubs.
If the project is to succeed, it “requires interest and cooperation from the area hotels and business” to allow the Real Time Operations Center access to existing public-facing cameras to assist in monitoring activities that impact public safety.
“The DLE intends to use Waikiki as its showpiece to promote the SVT concept, but we also intend to run similar yet scaled pilots in agricultural areas, at state buildings and infrastructure that are susceptible to criminal activity, public schools, as well as on a handful of Department of Hawaiian Home Lands communities across the state that are interested in the additional monitoring,” said Lambert, a former major with the Honolulu Police Department.
The motivation for turning to technology initiatives is that metropolitan police departments across the country are struggling to recruit, train and retain officers.
Law enforcement agencies and local governments are struggling to address the officer shortage. Any kind of county service is difficult as there are more than 2,000 vacancies citywide, including HPD.
The selfless, unpredictable and dangerous nature of traditional police work does not interest young people the way it once did.
“However, when speaking to the target audience of 16-24 year-olds, the mention of needing drone pilots, digital forensic analysts, as well as having opportunities to work with big-name vendors that utilize advanced AI (artificial intelligence) to support law enforcement has created more interest in this field,” said Lambert. “The hope would be that these individuals would fill the increasing void in public safety through technology platforms while the law enforcement community at large works to improve interest in traditional policing.”
The Waikiki Business Improvement District, referred to as WBID, is working on that partnership with the state to bring “cutting-edge technology to Waikiki” to improve public safety, Trevor Abarzua, the organization’s president and executive director, told the Star-Advertiser.
WBID would help organize the businesses and commercial properties to participate in adding more cameras to the public safety network.
Currently the city operates 31 cameras as part of an overt video surveillance system Opens in a new tab in Waikiki.
As of Friday, 26 of those cameras operate around the clock and three work at night but are offline during the day due to an issue with the battery system, which the city is working to address.
Two other cameras are offline, one due to obstruction of the wireless backhaul signal by surrounding trees and the other because of a power problem.
“Public safety is always our top priority, and we remain confident in the overall safety of Waikiki. While a portion of the security cameras are currently offline, the Honolulu Police Department continues to maintain a strong presence in the area, with officers regularly patrolling key locations,” read a statement to the Star- Advertiser by Scott Humber, Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s communications director.
The city is planning an inspection in the coming weeks to figure out what is causing camera outages.
“Once we know more, we’ll be able to give a better estimate on how long the repairs will take and how much they’ll cost,” he said. “We know this is frustrating, and we really appreciate the public’s patience as we work to get it resolved.”
The city also operates an overt video surveillance system in Waikiki and is exploring expansion into West Oahu Opens in a new tab.
Almost every business and commercial property has public-facing cameras in their private network that face the street, sidewalk or other public property, explained WBID’s Abarzua.
The state is investing in a technology network that will be able to have these private cameras added into the broader network of public cameras, therefore expanding the number of cameras in Waikiki that law enforcement agencies have access to.
“While we only currently have 26 (full time) working public safety cameras in Waikiki, this public-private partnership can add dozens, if not hundreds, of additional cameras into the system,” said Abarzua.
Abarzua noted a visit he made to The Union Square Alliance in San Francisco, an organization equivalent to WBID. He met with their leadership, along with San Francisco Police Department, to learn about how they rolled out an identical partnership.
Union Square was able to add 520 cameras into their system, allowing SFPD greater access to help improve public safety.
The need to prevent crime and improve public safety in the heart of Hawaii’s visitor industry should not unduly infringe on citizens’ right to privacy, advocates argue.
Jongwook “Wookie” Kim, an attorney and legal director with the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, told the Star-Advertiser that the SVT program is “deeply alarming” from a civil liberties perspective.
“Pouring resources into license plate readers, drones and cameras is investing in the creation of a ‘Big Brother’-like surveillance state. While the state may claim to be focused on improving public safety, blanketing Waikiki with advanced surveillance technology is not about safety — it’s about public control,” said Kim. “We should be extremely wary of initiatives like this one that normalize constant monitoring of everyday life. Whether intentional or not, this kind of surveillance will inevitably chill lawful conduct and the exercise of our fundamental rights. The stakes are high, especially when it’s unclear whether there will be meaningful oversight.”
Kim believes any program arising from the partnership between government and private businesses needs strict safeguards to ensure that the data collected is not used for purposes beyond its stated intent.
“Without those protections, we risk opening the door to widespread misuse of our personal information. Safety cannot come at the expense of our freedoms,” he said.
Lambert acknowledged that the biggest pushback will be the arguments on overmonitoring.
He thanked WBID for supporting the discussions around this initiative and hopes the community will support the additional monitoring with the intent to “identify and deter crime.”
“From a personal standpoint, as a law-abiding citizen, I could care less if I’m being videoed as I’m walking down the street, if the intent is to deter someone from robbing me. The reality is this: If you aren’t breaking the law, then there is nothing to worry about,” said Lambert.
Article available at: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/05/04/hawaii-news/state-seeks-access...