TWO NEW MINI-STATIONS — The Hawaii County Police Department has opened two new police mini-stations for use by community policing officers. The stations are located in Pepeekeo, South Hilo, and the Kanoelehua Industrial Area of Hilo. At left, County Councilman Dominic Yagong reads a Council resolution commending the efforts of Community Police Officer Van Reyes, left, for his work for the benefit of Pepeekeo and nearby communities. Also shown are Community Police Officers Albert Cortez, second from left, Elson Cabatyu (partially hidden) and John Rodrigues, now assigned to the area. At right, members of the Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association and community police officers untie a maile lei during ceremonies to open the Holomua Street mini-station. Taking part, from left, are KIAA members Barry Taniguchi, Conrad Hokama and Stacy Higa and Officers John Pagay and John Rodrigues.
HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
COMMUNITY POLICING, EAST HAWAII
SERGEANT JAMES N. SANBORN
PHONE: 961-2350
OCTOBER 13, 2000
MEDIA RELEASE
The Hawaii County Police Department has opened two new mini-stations in South Hilo — one in Pepeekeo and the other on Holomua Street in Hilo’s Kanoelehua Industrial Area.
The new mini-stations, opened during separate ceremonies conducted Thursday (October 12, 2000), will be manned on a regular basis by community policing officers. They bring to eight the number of police mini-stations in operation around the Big Island.
At the 10 a.m. opening of the Pepeekeo mini-station, located at the Volunteer Fire Department station on Kumula Street, County Councilman Dominic Yagong read a Council resolution commending the efforts of Community Police Officer Van Reyes for his work in Pepeekeo and surrounding communities. Reyes, recently reassigned to Hilo’s Wainaku area, worked in partnership with the Fire Department and members of the Pepeekeo community to acquire the mini-station for the community. Community Police Officer John Rodrigues is now assigned to the area.
Later, at 1 p.m., ceremonies were held to open the Holomua Street mini-station.
At the ceremonies attended by police officers and members of the Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association, Officer Rodrigues, who had been assigned to the area, was praised for working in partnership with the KIAA to acquire the office space for the mini-station. Community Policing Officer John Pagay has now been assigned to the area.
Conrad Hokama, KIAA president, called the opening of the new mini-station “a kind of homecoming,” noting that the business and community association was initially formed to combat a growing number of burglaries and thefts from businesses in the area.
The community policing program got started in 1995 with four officers and a supervising sergeant. With the recent addition of seven more community policing officers, the program now has an islandwide total of 28 officers and two supervising sergeants.
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