Two sets of too-oldto-be-doing-this-anymore car thieves lead police on wild, smashup, broad-daylight chases that both end in crashes — with innocent drivers and Honolulu Police Department officials feeling they need to defend their actions.

Something is wrong with this picture.

The people arrested last week for careening down Kalaniana'ole Highway in broad daylight, wantonly banging cars and gunning for a police officer, driving like they're in the cast of "Lost" — blame them for motorists' having to sit in traffic for hours on a Wednesday night. Same with the two who plowed through downtown during lunchtime Thursday and whacked that poor lady, flipping over her SUV. Blame them.

If HPD was just flashing these guys the howzit shaka and letting them go on their merry way with yet another stolen vehicle, then there would be some 'splaining to do, but otherwise, go for it. Take them out. We've had it with these scumbags.

Two of the four arrested and charged have extensive criminal histories. So much for rehab. So much for job training. Cool Hand Luke was put in a grueling work camp program for banging the heads off parking meters in a drunken spree. These guys have a much greater debt to pay for what they have done to our sense of safety and order. Give them a toothbrush and have them clean some toilets at a beach park.

Two of the four who were apprehended last week were in their 30s. The other two were close to 30. If you're that old and you're still jacking cars, you're past the point of just doing it for kicks. It has become a profession or subsistence tied to a drug habit, and you've probably shamed your family many times over the years.

And speaking of the family, where were mom and dad all those times when these jokers showed up in the driveway with a strange set of wheels? Didn't they ask some pointed questions? Didn't they demand some explaining?

Of course, all this fretting about a traffic tie-up in East Honolulu because of a stolen car has the folks on the West Side rolling their eyes. Like they don't live through that all the time. Like they don't sit in traffic that bad or worse every day, regardless of stolen cars or traffic accidents or stalled vehicles. Oh, you East Honolulu types. So delicate. So sheltered.

Instead of grumbling, grumbling about why HPD has to shut down the road for hours after one of these crimes, we should be asking the deeper questions of why this is happening in a place we still think of as a small town, on an island that still pretends to be laid back and easygoing and immune to big-city trouble.

Shame on the criminals who, despite HPD assertions, do seem to be getting more brazen all the time. Shame on their families for not taking care of this antisocial behavior while there was still hope. Shame on our justice system for not being able to figure out how to reform so many bad apples. But if the police have to tie up traffic for a couple of hours to clean up the mess that these guys made, so be it.

HPD officers weren't chasing the bad guys. They were catching them. That's their job, and in both cases, they took care of their business.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.