Civil Beat is running a series on prostitution and HPD this week...

[ellisonz]

It is a four part series based on over a years worth of investigation and it is astounding both from a Hawaii resident viewpoint and from that of a feminist, or indeed even a decent human being. If you've ever doubted before that HPD maintains a choke hold over civil life in Honolulu by selectively enforcing the law this series is for you.

I'm posting it also in Good Reads to get more exposure because the reporting is that good and the story is important: http://www.democraticunderground.com/101619124

The Story Behind Our "Cops, Prostitutes and Pimps" Series
By John Temple 03/12/2012

As a tourism mecca and with its history of importing agricultural workers, concern about human trafficking in Hawaii has run high in recent years.

We've seen accusations against Maui Land and Pineapple and the botched prosecution of the owners of Aloun Farms on Oahu. This year, the nation's largest human trafficking case ever will be prosecuted in Honolulu.

The issue surfaced prominently when Civil Beat launched in May 2010. That spring saw the Hawaii Legislature unanimously pass human trafficking legislation that was uniformly opposed by law enforcement and ultimately vetoed by Gov. Linda Lingle.

We decided then to make human trafficking in Hawaii a coverage focus, and Assistant Editor Sara Lin and other reporters began investigating the issue. To say it wasn't easy is an understatement. While we could cover labor trafficking by following trials, we found an almost total lack of cooperation from the Honolulu Police Department when it came to trying to understand sex trafficking.

More: http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2012/03/12/15148-the-story-behind-our-cops-prostitutes-and-pimps-series/

Part 1 of 4:

By Sara Lin 03/12/2012

Want to hire a prostitute in Honolulu and get away with it? Do it on a Saturday.

A Civil Beat investigation of 12 months' worth of prostitution arrests shows that there is virtually no enforcement of prostitution laws on weekends.

In one year's time, Honolulu police made no prostitution arrests on Saturdays and just two arrests on a Sunday, and both of those were on the same day at the same location. That's no prostitutes, johns or pimps arrested on the busiest night of the week. Police made a total of 214 arrests in a 12-month period, with weekends making up less than 1 percent of those arrests. Instead, the majority of all prostitution arrests took place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Honolulu police refused repeated requests for an interview and would only answer questions via email. The department declined to say whether its 90 officers in narcotics and vice work on weekends.

More: http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2012/03/12/15147-cops-prostitutes-and-pimps-no-arrests-on-a-saturday-in-honolulu/

Part 2 of 4:

Rita Coury

By Sara Lin 03/13/2012

In one year, Honolulu police made more than 200 prostitution arrests. But only one of those arrests involved a pimp — and he was never charged.

That finding comes from Civil Beat's investigation into how Honolulu police enforce Hawaii's prostitution laws. To determine the scope of sex trafficking in Honolulu, Civil Beat tracked prostitution arrests for one year through the daily booking log, a public document that lists basic information about every arrest on Oahu.

The Honolulu Police Department confirmed that it had arrested just one pimp in 2011. The department said it also arrested just one pimp in 2010.

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The lone pimp arrested in 2011 was Isaiah Black, 26, of Mililani. He was arrested for promoting prostitution on May 24, in Red Hill, a residential neighborhood adjacent to Tripler Medical Center. It was a Tuesday, minutes before midnight.

More: http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2012/03/13/15149-cops-prostitutes-and-pimps-in-one-year-one-pimp-arrested/