Residents want sustained enforcement on Diamond Head homeless

Yahoo

07-06-2025

DIAMOND HEAD, Hawaii (KHON2) — The issue of homelessness around Diamond Head continues to frustrate neighbors and beachgoers, even after a major sweep in April.
Over 100 cleared from Diamond Head during homeless sweep
KHON2 checked it out and found some troubling signs that the problem has not gone away.
Kuilei Cliffs Beach Park looks like any other scenic spot on Oʻahu at first glance, but this corner of paradise was also home to a large and messy homeless encampment until June 5.
'And I've been writing letters and and sending in photos and I mean, I think people from all over the world come here. They shouldn't have to see that,' said Ann, a Diamond Head beachgoer.
Ann and others who visit the beach said they have been pleading for help for weeks, but it was not until KHON2 reached out to HPD and the Department of Land and Natural Resources on Thursday that action was taken — the encampment was cleared out on Friday.
Neither agency would say who made it happen — HPD told KHON2 that it was DLNR responsibility and DLNR said to ask HPD.
There is concern that someone cooking dinner could provide the spark that lights up the whole mountainside with the summer heat drying out the slopes.
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City officials said at Mayor Rick Blangiardi's Town Hall meeting on Thursday that they were aware of the risks, especially from campfires and open flames. A joint sweep with the State removed most of the homeless living around Diamond Head in April.
'There were as many reported 120, 140 people on the Hill. There's 12 there now, seven on top, five below. We're going to zero. We're going to zero because of the fire safety issues that are posed there,' said Department of Community Services director Anton Krucky.
Diamond Head Beach is still troubled even though some areas are mostly cleared. Folks are still living in the cliffs and along the shoreline — neighbors said it simply is not safe.
'It's a very dangerous place for anybody really, alone. Male or female, there's a lot of people on drugs here. You can tell. And, there's no police presence here,' said Arleen Velasco, Diamond Head Neighborhood Board vice chair.
Velasco said the solution is not just clearing tents, it is sustained enforcement.
'If people knew there was a police presence and they were going to get tickets and fines. I think they'd go somewhere else,' said Velasco.
'You know, I used to come to Diamond Head all the time, for many years, and walk the beach, but now I go somewhere else because I don't like to walk past it. It's. It's a safety issue for me,' Ann said.
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Jurisdiction over enforcement is split between City police and State DLNR officers, and for now, this scenic part of the south shore is still caught between gorgeous views and serious problems.
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