Bill Text: HI SCR202 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urging The City And County Of Honolulu To More Vigorously Enforce Existing Trespass Laws.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-16 - Referred to JDC. [SCR202 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-SCR202-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	202
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the city and county of honolulu to more vigorously enforce existing trespass laws.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Revised Statutes contain provisions that protect property rights, including provisions that prohibit trespassing over publicly and privately owned property; and

 

     WHEREAS, the enforcement of trespass laws promotes respect for property rights and helps to ensure the safety and well-being of persons who have a legal right to occupy the public or private premises in question; and

 

     WHEREAS, harm to community members results when trespass laws are not adequately enforced; and

 

     WHEREAS, the North Shore Neighborhood Board No. 27 (Neighborhood Board) has discussed possible approaches to addressing trespass incidents in the North Shore community, which have included reports of armed trespassers threatening community members, while also acknowledging the existence of certain challenges to the enforcement of trespass laws; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Neighborhood Board subsequently sent a formal written communication to the elected officials representing the North Shore community to ask that the Neighborhood Board's concerns regarding trespassing be addressed; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Neighborhood Board also clarified that it does not wish to infringe on Native Hawaiian rights applicable to beach access and access to other sites for cultural practices; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu is urged to more vigorously enforce existing trespass laws; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Honolulu Police Department and Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu (Department of the Prosecuting Attorney) are requested to jointly plan and conduct a public outreach campaign for the purpose of better understanding the concerns of, and obstacles faced by not only North Shore residents, but all residents of the island of Oahu, with respect to trespass incidents and residents' attempts to seek enforcement of applicable trespass laws; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public outreach campaign is requested to include events such as town hall meetings or listening sessions at which North Shore and other Oahu residents may raise specific concerns, receive answers to their questions, and provide input regarding the problem of trespassing, the detrimental community impacts of illegal access to premises by unauthorized individuals, and actions that may be taken to improve enforcement of existing trespass laws; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Honolulu Police Department and Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, as applicable, are requested to take the following actions to more effectively prevent and respond to trespassing incidents on Oahu:

 

     (1)  Expand police patrol efforts within affected communities;

 

     (2)  Increase collaboration with affected communities, such as through neighborhood watch programs;

 

     (3)  Establish and promote awareness of a dedicated tip line that may be used to report trespassing incidents and electronically transmit images and video footage of the incidents to the Honolulu Police Department;

 

     (4)  Engage in interdepartmental collaboration on a strategy to more effectively apprehend suspects and prosecute violations of applicable trespass laws, including identifying types of cases that should be prioritized by the Honolulu Police Department for more intensive investigation and documentation or fast-tracked by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for more expeditious resolution in the courts;

 

     (5)  Devise a system to internally monitor and track repeat offenders and ensure that apprehension efforts, enforcement, and penalties sought are appropriately escalated for repeat conduct, even where the applicable trespass statute does not explicitly require these actions and even where repeat conduct by the same offender does not involve the same property address each time;

 

     (6)  Establish safeguards to ensure that any departmental actions undertaken in response to trespassing incidents do not have the effect of criminalizing or otherwise discouraging the exercise of Native Hawaiian gathering rights and traditional cultural practices as authorized by law; and

 

     (7)  Any other measures that would help to prevent and address the problem of trespassing; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Honolulu Police Department and Department of the Prosecuting Attorney are requested to jointly submit a report of the activities conducted by each department in accordance with this request, along with any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Chief of the Honolulu Police Department, and Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Trespass Laws; Enforcement by City and County of Honolulu