Hawaii Homeless Program Failed After Prosecutors And Police Wouldn’t Play Ball…The idea was to offer help to homeless people in lieu of criminal charges. Instead, HPD increased the number of citations it handed out.
A state-funded program intended to steer homeless people from the criminal justice system and into housing, addiction treatment and mental health care failed to meet its core mission after a two-year pilot in Honolulu.
The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program was intended to give a choice to homeless people accused of minor crimes: Accept a criminal citation or cooperate with a caseworker who could refer them to services. For those who accepted assistance, the Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney’s office would agree to waive the filing of the criminal charge.
