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Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

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  • Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

    Property crime in Hawaii is a major problem, mostly linked to drugs (namely ice), but criminals pushed the envelope another foot closer to the edge with the latest stunt on the North Shore:

    Armed men hijack tour van, 4 occupants
    David Waite, Honolulu Advertiser, Wednesday, January 19, 2005
    Two mothers watched in shock and disbelief yesterday morning as a tour van with their daughters inside was hijacked from a Leeward Coast beach park. The three girls, and a male tourist who was in the Dolphin Excursions van with them, were released unharmed minutes later after the man pleaded with the hijacker to let them go, police said. The van was found abandoned in Honokai Hale about 15 minutes after the incident began, police said. The tourists' belongings were gone.
    The story has taken off like wildfire, and has been picked up by newspapers and news sites all across the country. Voila. A few desperate morons deal a significant blow to our primary industry. At least the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii exists to help the people directly affected by this brazen crime.

  • #2
    Re: Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

    When I first read that story, the first thing that came to mind was, "there's no way they won't be caught because once you go around the island, there's no place else to run!"

    But armed robbery is a very serious matter. More than likely the people who hijacked the van and tourists were drug-addled and desperate. When you're in that condition, you never think about the consequences of your actions until it's too late.

    I doubt it's going to do much to hurt the tourist business on Oahu, but it will serve as a cautionary tale (I hope) that you don't bring everything you own with you on vacation and then leave it unguarded even when it seems like there's no danger. Just like the lolo tourists who insist on driving rental convertibles and then leave cameras, etc. in them while they go to the beach. They really think their stuff is still going to be in their cars when they return?????

    Miulang
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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    • #3
      Re: Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

      The Star-Bulletin expanded today on the possible effects incidents like these might have on the local economy:

      Tourism industry worried by recent visitor attacks
      Mary Vorsino, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Thursday, January 20, 2005
      The visitor society is still compiling statistics on crimes against tourists for 2004, but [Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii president Jessica] Rich suspects the numbers will not be drastically different from the previous year. "I think what we're seeing is more high-profile cases" causing concern, she said. For example, the van hijacking story was picked up by dozens of mainland newspapers, including USA Today.
      There's also recap of recent incidents (Tim Noreuil, Yuko Keida, Pam Disel), and the question of "whether crimes against visitors should receive stiffer penalties."
      Last edited by pzarquon; January 20, 2005, 08:59 AM. Reason: Fixed link.

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      • #4
        Re: Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

        I think it's important for tourists to realize that they need to take the same kinds of precautions when visiting Hawai'i as they would anywhere else.

        For the Visitor's Bureau not to expect the national press to pick up on these stories is also ludicrous. You're not Vegas after all, which has the saying, "What happens here, stays here".

        Miulang
        "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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        • #5
          Re: Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

          Yes, people traveling everywhere need to be careful, but that doesn't mean that we should harp on the stupidity of tourists rather than focus on the prevalence on crime. People will be careless everywhere they go... but travel destinations need to work at being the kind of place people will want to go in the first place.

          Besides. Leaving a backpack in an open convertible is one thing. I don't think anyone feels these tourists or the tour company was out of line for leaving the van "unattended" - given that there was an adult still in the van with the kids, just relaxing. It's not autotheft, it's carjacking, a much more direct and potentially violent crime in which it is much harder to fault the victim.

          And where do you see the Visitor's Bureau not "expect the national press to pick up on these stories"? I don't see a complaint about the way these stories are going far and wide. No one can expect the press to not do its job, after all. Heck, forget the Associated Press, these days even a tiny blog post about a seemingly small injustice could easily spread across the globe.

          There's no call to stop the reporting of these incidents... just an emphasis on the need to stop these incidents from happening in the first place.

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          • #6
            Re: Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

            Originally posted by pzarquon
            There's no call to stop the reporting of these incidents... just an emphasis on the need to stop these incidents from happening in the first place.
            True, Ryan, but why did those buggahs carjack the van in the first place? What was the root cause for the crime? More than likely it was desperate guys who needed to steal something that they could trade for cash because they needed a fix. Like Auntie Lynn says, the problem lies in the City and County being unwilling to root out the drug dealers in Chinatown and other places where they may congregate.

            Catching and punishing the guys who did this is only putting a bandaid on the problem. You have to get rid of the root cause before crimes like this stop happening. Now that this incident has been publicized, I'm afraid some other people will get ideas and want to try to do the same thing.

            Miulang
            "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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            • #7
              Re: Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

              Originally posted by Miulang
              Catching and punishing the guys who did this is only putting a bandaid on the problem. You have to get rid of the root cause before crimes like this stop happening.
              Um. And that's what I said. There's no question in my mind that the ice epidemic and drugs in general were the real motive here, and said so in the first sentence of the first post. I haven't said anything about "catching and punishing the guys," and have no interest in that beyond the usual need for law enforcement to catch any criminal.

              To be clear, when I mentioned "the need to stop these incidents from happening in the first place," I did mean tackling the drug problem - the root of the property crime epidemic.

              I'm just saying that this is our problem - Hawaii's problem - and not anything I'd be in a hurry to ascribe even in part to careless tourists.

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              • #8
                Re: Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

                It's good to know they actually caught the guy who hijacked the tourist van last month. And one good thing did come out of it: tourist vans will no longer keep their engines running (to keep the airconditioning on) when passengers disembark.

                Miulang

                http://starbulletin.com/2005/02/03/news/index16.html
                "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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                • #9
                  Re: Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

                  The guy they got, Ricky Kenui, is a classmate of mine from elementary school.
                  But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
                  GrouchyTeacher.com

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                  • #10
                    Re: Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

                    Originally posted by scrivener
                    The guy they got, Ricky Kenui, is a classmate of mine from elementary school.
                    wow! Did that give you chicken skin, or wot??? You have to wonder where he went wrong...was it drugs? alcohol? peer pressure?

                    Miulang
                    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Tour Van Hijacked... With Tourists Inside

                      A few years ago, an 'Iolani classmate of mine was arrested for armed robbery, breaking into people's houses. Funny, I never saw anything about that in the alumni bulletin.

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