Ask the Mayor: Why Are Homeless Allowed to Steal Shopping Carts?

Mayor Alan Arakawa answers some of the questions submitted to his staff.

Submit your own questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa at AskTheMayor@mauicounty.gov, (808) 270-7855 or mail them to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793.

Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the “Ask the Mayor” column.

Mr. Mayor,

Q: Can you please tell me why the homeless are allowed to wander off with stolen shopping carts These carts are expensive and when the homeless are permitted to use them, the stores need to buy new ones. This ends up costing the rest of us money when we shop at their stores.

A: The shopping cart issue must have a complainant, e.g., store manager, to report that a shopping cart has been stolen. An eye-witness must observe an individual come onto store property, take possession of a shopping cart, proceed to leave store property, and make no attempt to return said shopping cart, thus depriving the store of its property.

In most cases, stores will not report this type of incident to the police.