Honolulu's new police chief David Lazar told worried Kalihi residents he has a plan for youth crime, illegal game rooms, and drugs, but admits the department is short on officers.

• Residents are on edge after a 15-year-old boy was shot in Halawa over the weekend, and they want to know why curfews are not being enforced.
• Lazar's answer to youth crime is keeping kids busy with programs like the Boys and Girls Club, so police do not have to crack down on curfews at all.
• He wants residents to report illegal game rooms and promises police will keep raiding them, seizing equipment, and pushing prosecutors to follow through.
• On drugs, he wants offenders steered into treatment rather than just locked up, since many of them are neighbors and family.
• The local station is understaffed, but the department just hired its biggest recruit class in 12 years and expects a similar-sized class next month.

Outlook: Lazar's fourth community meeting is set for next month in Waialua, and results in Kalihi will depend on whether the new recruits ease the staffing shortage.