The Honolulu Police Department decision to hold off on a more formal partnership in boosting University of Hawai'i campus security is a disappointment, but the basic idea still can be salvaged.

UH-Manoa officials announced a plan to fill two overnight security shifts by hiring off-duty police officers, a sensible first step toward addressing recent assault and theft reports on the campus.

Unfortunately, Police Chief Boisse Correa rejected the plan this week, asserting that patrols on the state-owned property might more properly be handled by state law enforcement, not the city police.

Surely, this doesn't have to be a significant barrier; after all, HPD responds routinely to calls for support from campus security.

The word now from the UH and HPD is that the agencies are still talking about the idea, so there's hope for a solution yet.

This idea would be far better than one option that has been considered: creating a new security force authorized to carry guns. That would mean an separate process that likely wouldn't improve security enough to justify the cost.

The off-duty patrol officers would be available to respond quickly in cases that threaten to escalate and can help the guards avert potentially dangerous assaults. In addition, starting with a low-level boost in staffing will enable campus security to easily evaluate its effectiveness and deploy additional officers as needed.

It will go a long way toward creating the welcoming community everyone agrees the campus should have.