Honolulu police recently brought attention to social networks for recommending that swimmers not leave their valuables unattended and take them with them into the ocean in a waterproof bag. But police and the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, a nonprofit organization that helps tourists who are victims of crime or other problems, also have even more basic advice: don't take your valuables to the beach at all. Instead, they say, leave them where you're staying.
The number of thefts in Honolulu in general, and Waikiki in particular, was lower last year than in 2022 and 2021, but residents still have some tips to avoid being robbed on the famous city of 'Hawaii. beaches.
How to protect yourself from theft at the beach?
Jessica Lani Rich, CEO of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, recommends bringing with you only what you need for the day. For example, just take $20 so that your vacation isn't ruined if you lose it.
In the past, she helped a South Carolina woman who took all of her jewelry with her to the beach and then stole it. Some Japanese visitors took all their money with them. One man buried his wallet in the sand for safekeeping with the intention of digging it up later, but was never able to find it, even after volunteers from Rich's group helped him search.
“You don’t need to bring … thousands of dollars in cash,” she said. “You don’t need to bring all your credit cards.” Rich recommends that visitors use their hotel safe for valuables and always have someone in their party stay with their belongings at the beach. “Never leave your valuables unattended on the beach,” Rich said. “Putting it under a towel, putting it in your tennis shoe is not as safe.”
Waikiki convenience stores sell waterproof pouches that can hold a cell phone and other items. Some have lanyards so you can wear them around your neck.
What if we left things in the car?
If you leave bags in your car, make sure you don't leave them visible, Rich said. Earlier this month, the company helped a woman who left her purse in the front passenger seat. The thieves broke the car window and fled with it. In another case, a Los Angeles woman who stopped to see turtles at Laniakea Beach on Oahu's North Shore left her purse in the front seat of a convertible. This was stolen.
If you put your purse or bag in the trunk of your car, do it before you get to the beach. “Don’t do it where you’re going to park your car because people are looking at you,” Rich said. Maj. James Slayter, the Honolulu police officer in charge of the tourist mecca of Waikiki, is reminding people to roll up their windows and lock their doors. “It’s important to take many proactive steps to prevent easy crimes of opportunity from happening,” he said.
What are the locals doing?
Mindy Pennybacker, a surfer and author of “Surfing Sisterhood Hawaii: Wahine Reclaiming the Waves,” said she puts her car key, driver's license, credit card and sunscreen in a plastic bag and she zipped the bag into a small pocket of her board shorts. A loop inside the pocket also secures the key. She can do this because her key is an older type that she inserts directly into the car door and ignition, not an electronic key that could be damaged by salt water, she said. explain.
She always buys onesies or shorts that have a securely closed pocket. “As far as I know, you can’t really leave anything in the car. Anywhere, on any beach,” Pennybacker said. She also leaves her cell phone at home. “It’s just not worth it,” she said.
How safe is Hawaii?
Honolulu is Hawaii's largest city with a metropolitan area – located entirely on the island of Oahu – of nearly one million residents. There is crime like in many other places. But those who are victims of crime represent only a small portion of the nearly 10 million visitors who come to the islands each year. Honolulu Police Department data shows there were 1,927 theft cases in Waikiki last year, compared to 2,276 in 2022 and 2,167 in 2021.
For Oahu overall, theft cases dropped 23% and 7.1% during the same periods. Slayter, the police major, said the city is working with the nonprofit Waikiki Business Improvement District to install lockers at some beaches to give visitors another option for storing their belongings. It's easy to become complacent.
Both Rich and Slayter say some travelers are lulled into thinking that Hawaii is so beautiful that nothing bad could happen to them here. Rich even once helped a law enforcement officer from Virginia whose government ID was torn off while he and his wife went swimming and left their belongings on the sand. Many robbery victims tell Rich they never thought they would be preyed upon. “Hawaii is a safe place,” she said, “but we also advise visitors to use common sense when going to the beach.”
