Things were bad at Kalihi Valley Homes, residents of the public housing project say. Crime appeared to be on the rise. Graffiti, vandalism and property damage were commonplace.

In April, vandals targeted more than 20 cars at the project — breaking windshields and windows — in what KVH residents say was part of an ongoing rivalry between youth at the housing project and those at other developments.

After that, two women at the project decided something had to be done. And that tenants had to do it.

So, with the help of police and managers at the project, Shaye Yamashiro, 32, who has lived at the project for seven years, and Pat Kamalu, 59, who moved into Kalihi Valley Homes in the 1960s, formed a patrol with about eight other tenants. Five times a week, the group walked the project — sometimes until 1 o'clock in the morning.

At first, they faced taunts and threats, sometimes by their own neighbors or by guests of tenants.

But they kept at it, targeting youths who were drinking publicly or vandalizing property, calling police when they saw crimes being committed.

"We had gang fights. We had drinking in the common areas, graffiti," Yamashiro said.

Once, they nabbed someone at the project who was trying to sell jewelry he had stolen from another tenant.

Their persistence gained them the support of other tenants. Today, more than 30 people are in the security patrol, which managers at the 400-unit public housing project say has made a significant difference in reducing crime and helped bring together a complex where tensions were threatening to spill over into violence.

State housing officials say the patrol shows how change at housing projects plagued with crime will have to come, at least in part, from within.

"It's what we strive to happen at every project," said Chad Taniguchi, executive director of the Hawai'i Public Housing Authority, adding that the agency is working to beef up various associations at housing projects in hopes that those groups will then form citizen patrols. "It is the way that the residents will regain control of the neighborhood."

Only about 25 of the 67 public housing projects statewide have associations, Taniguchi said. At least six have citizen patrols.

PLAGUED BY CRIME

The housing authority has long grappled with crime at public housing. Residents of projects, especially those in the urban core, complain of drug dealing, gangs, vandalism and robberies. Some say they are afraid to go outside after dark.

Meanwhile, the housing authority is also trying to tackle years of backlogged maintenance totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, and meet a growing need for affordable housing.

Taniguchi said the authority can only do so much to address crime, which has also become a concern for the thousands of people who live near public housing projects from Kalihi to Wai'anae.

The housing authority's security budget is $1.6 million, which pays for guards at about seven projects in the urban core. In recent years, the authority has also taken other measures to increase security, including requiring visitors at some projects — KVH included — to sign in.

Citizen patrols could offer an inexpensive solution to help battle crime, especially in these tight fiscal times, officials say.

That's partly why the housing authority is trying to get more patrols started at other housing projects, and is emphasizing personal responsibility to get project residents to kick out bad elements.

"If we could get residents in every housing project to adopt these attitudes on the citizens' patrol, on basically being part of the solution, we're going to have great neighborhoods all over the place," Taniguchi said.

He added that citizens patrols aren't a new idea at public housing. They helped to root out criminals at a Maui public housing project several years ago and have had success in other locations.

SPEEDY IMPROVEMENT

What's different about the Kalihi Valley patrol is the degree of improvements they have been able to make in a short time and at such a large project. With 1,300 tenants, KVH is one of the largest projects in the state and is believed to be the biggestwith a citizen patrol, according to HPHA staff.

The patrol is also unique because it has become something of a community action group. Recently, members cleaned up a vacant unit so that a new family could move in. This month, they plan to hold trash and graffiti cleanups and kick off a beautification program.

"We want to live in a safe and healthy community," Yamashiro said, as she sat in a common area at Kalihi Valley Homes last week. She conceded that there are still problems to be dealt with, but she said the patrol is slowly chipping away at crime and keeping wrongdoers out.

"There has been a lot of improvement," she said.

Police couldn't provide statistics to back up the claim, since the patrol hasn't been around long. They did say they've noticed a drop in calls originating from Kalihi Valley Homes but did not provide any numbers.

"They are a presence. They tend to walk in the late evening hours, when Kalihi Valley Homes does in fact have their problems," said Kalihi police Maj. William Chur, adding that crime at the project ranges from vandalism to loitering to more serious crimes.

The patrol is made up of tenants ranging in age from the 20s to the 60s.

Kamalu, who formed the patrol with Yamashiro, said the group has made her feel safer about living in the project.

"I think we're doing a better job than security," she joked.