By Staff Reports
(Kauai)– The public will have the opportunity to address public safety questions and concerns with community leaders from the office of the Prosecutor, the Kaua‘i Police Department, and the county council at a town hall meeting to be held in Princeville today, August 16, 2012.
Previous meetings took place throughout July in Kîlauea, Kôloa, Kekaha, Lîhu‘e, and Waimea. An additional meeting in Kapa‘a will be scheduled soon as well.
“This is the first time leaders from the prosecutor’s office, the police department, and the county council have met all together with the public in a town hall meeting format,” said Kaua‘i County Councilman Mel Rapozo, who organized the meetings after conducting a series of them on different topics last year.
“There is no better way to get input from the community than to go out to them with town hall meetings,” Rapozo said.
“Different communities have different public safety concerns,” explained Kaua‘i Prosecuting Attorney Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho. “In Kîlauea, for instance, we hear a lot of concern about car break-ins, while on the West Side they have more concerns about drugs.”
“It’s good to have representatives from all three departments together,” said Iseri-Carvalho. “Otherwise, questions can sometimes get passed over because the right person is not there to answer them. This way, if there is a question for the police, they are there to answer it, and if it is a question better addressed by the prosecutor’s office then we are there to provide an answer,” she said, “and the county council has a representative present who can address questions or concerns about legislation.”
Police Chief Darryl Perry said he appreciates the meetings, “because they afford an opportunity to interact, engage, and explain what we are doing as a police department in keeping our communities safe.”
The meeting is from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Princeville Community Center, 4334 Emmalani Drive in Princeville. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. If you need assistance or an auxiliary aid such as an interpreter or materials in an alternate format in order to participate, contact Charles Foster at (808) 241-1888 or cfoster@kauai.gov.