Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Read the story: civilbeat.org/2025/11/honolulus-crackdown-traps-homeless-in-loop-of-citations
Last summer, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi pledged to get 1,000 people off the street over the next year by ramping up enforcement and providing homeless people with resources.
Blangiardi made good on the first half of that promise, but not so much when it comes to getting folks off the street for good.
Police issued nearly 11,000 tickets in that time frame, a 60% increase from the year before.
We reviewed these records and found that police are repeatedly ticketing the same people, including one man who’s been cited 286 times.
What’s unclear is whether increasing the number of tickets meted out to those who often face intractable challenges, many dealing with addiction and mental illness, has resulted in any significant reduction in homelessness.
City officials said there were 1,700 admissions into the public shelter system in 2025. But they can’t say how many of those ended up back on the street.
People on the frontlines of helping the homeless on Oʻahu say progress is halting, and there is far to go.
Read the story: civilbeat.org/2025/11/honolulus-crackdown-traps-homeless-in-loop-of-citations
Last summer, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi pledged to get 1,000 people off the street over the next year by ramping up enforcement and providing homeless people with resources.
Blangiardi made good on the first half of that promise, but not so much when it comes to getting folks off the street for good.
Police issued nearly 11,000 tickets in that time frame, a 60% increase from the year before.
We reviewed these records and found that police are repeatedly ticketing the same people, including one man who’s been cited 286 times.
What’s unclear is whether increasing the number of tickets meted out to those who often face intractable challenges, many dealing with addiction and mental illness, has resulted in any significant reduction in homelessness.
City officials said there were 1,700 admissions into the public shelter system in 2025. But they can’t say how many of those ended up back on the street.
People on the frontlines of helping the homeless on Oʻahu say progress is halting, and there is far to go.
