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| Police Chief Harry Kubojiri encourages Pahala residents to ramp up Neighborhood Watch. |
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE HAWAI`I POLICE DEPARTMENT met with Ka`u residents yesterday at Pahala Community Center. Police Chief Harry Kubojiri told community members that he wants them to feel comfortable connecting with HPD representatives - from Andre Burian, the commander of the Ka`u district and James O Conner, commander of Internal Affairs and Criminal Intelligence, to Ka`u’s community Police Officer Dane Shibuya.
The police chief said that community meetings and a recent online survey of community concerns “helps us all to improve our services to help you. We are not perfect as an organization. We always can have improvement. The best person to give us our report card is you, the community,” Kubojiri said.
He described Pahala as a community like the old days where everyone knows each other and can take care of one another. When asked whether there is less crime in this kind of rural, laid-back community, he said the problem is that nowadays people travel from other parts of the island to commit crimes and even fly in from off-island to rip off houses and businesses.
He and other officers encouraged Pahala residents to ramp up the Neighborhood Watch program and report problems in the community so police can talk to people in trouble to help them get back on the right track.
Burian summarized the status of issues brought up at previous meetings. He said the camping at Kawa by the Abel Simiona Louie group is being worked on by the county prosecutor’s office. A supporter of Louie told the police that there was new proof that Louie is entitled to live there because of his ancestry. The police chief said that the dispute is not with their department but that police want to make sure everyone is safe.
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| Legal cattle like these were being displaced by "cattle trespassers" putting their herds on other people's lands. |
CATTLE TRESPASSING was one of the problems brought up. It is a crime to put cattle on pasture without the owner’s permission. Last year a group of people claimed that their ancestors having owned the land gave them the right to introduce and graze cattle even though the land is now owned or leased by other ranchers. The problem pit some paniolo against the trespassers, but “seems to have remedied itself,” said Burian.
RACING CARS ON HWY 11 was another issue brought up to police. Marian Villanueva and Guy Enriques both talked about a stretch of Hwy 11 near Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, where there is signage to watch for Nene geese. They reported several incidents of cars side by side on both sides of the highway, using the stretch for racing. Gary Domondon said he was hunting and could hear them burning rubber. Others said there are skid marks from the race cars on the highway. Police said they would try to catch them.
JUNK CARS is another issue, and Burian encouraged the community to continue to call in reports. He said more than 40 abandoned vehicles were recently removed through police working with other county agencies and landowners.
TRAPPING WILD DOGS is also important where they are a nuisance and a danger to the public, police officers said. The Humane Society has traps for which there is no charge. They will pick up the dogs once they are caught.
TO MAKE COMPLAINTS about any policing matter, the police officers said it is most efficient to call Dispatch at 935-3311 since the calls are tracked and the reports can sometimes be linked to similar activity in other parts of the island.
JUNK CARS is another issue, and Burian encouraged the community to continue to call in reports. He said more than 40 abandoned vehicles were recently removed through police working with other county agencies and landowners.
TRAPPING WILD DOGS is also important where they are a nuisance and a danger to the public, police officers said. The Humane Society has traps for which there is no charge. They will pick up the dogs once they are caught.
TO MAKE COMPLAINTS about any policing matter, the police officers said it is most efficient to call Dispatch at 935-3311 since the calls are tracked and the reports can sometimes be linked to similar activity in other parts of the island.
`O KA`U KAKOU'S ANNUAL KEIKI Fishing Tournament at Punalu`u takes place this Saturday, January 22. The tournament is catch-and-release, using poles and barbless hooks. Registration is from 8 to 9 a.m. for fishing from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Many prizes will be awarded.