Squatter thieves in Hawaiian Acres

[Kapoho Joe]

quote:

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Originally posted by lilikoi

The situation has not resolved. The thief is still actively stealing things from people's homes and fruit from their farms. The police get called and then do nothing about it.

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At a certain point I am inclined to believe that unwillingness to address the situation personally is leading to its continuation.

You, your neighbors or a hired hand need to clean house. Period.

[Guest]

It is important to understand that people engaged in criminal activity have an implicit guarantee that a team of state provided attorneys will look after their 'rights' if things go awry. This includes prosecuting victims of criminal activity if their response to the criminal activity injures or harms the interests of criminals and is deemed 'excessive' or 'inappropriate' or 'based upon hearsay'. Vigilantism against criminals is generally prosecuted much more severely than the actions of the criminals themselves. Even when completely paralyzed, the system reserves all action for itself. Criminals also have access to civil courts in which to pursue lawsuits against their victims. Often, they win.

This is the legal environment that you have created by voting 'progressively' for decades, and now all you can do is live with it or vote to change it. Until then, we are stuck with it.

It is called reality. Reality is what you cannot make up.

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You can't fix Samsara.

[The_Saints]

Back when I was a cop we used to get hired off duty to provide security. I know our HPD officers perform off duty work for traffic control and special events. But not having been a cop for Hawaii County, I don’t know what their policy is concerning special duty security details. If their program allows it, perhaps a few neighbors could chip in to hire some help. The 'hired hand' as Kapoho Joe put it.

An off duty officer being paid time and a half to make patrols or sit watch is surprising willing to handle things that the on duty guys don’t have the gumption to deal with. They can take action that private security cannot. And, it saves you from the liabilities of taking direct personal action.

[PunaMauka2]

The Saints provides a voice of pragmatic reason here in an otherwise sea of retiree partisan hacks brandishing venomous vigilante pitchforks.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

retiree partisan hacks brandishing venomous vigilante pitchforks.

I hope to retire in the next few years, so probably need to get one. Haven't seen them at Home Depot, what about Garden Exchange? Are the venom refills expensive?

“We’ve got to be as clear-headed about human beings as possible, because we are still each other’s only hope,” James Baldwin to Margaret Mead in the book A Rap On Race

[PunaMauka2]

For the retiree vigilante on a budget , go for the American Gothic 1000 w/ refillable cartridges available at Home Depot.

[randomq]

Yes, protection money should be paid to the police, your taxes just aren't cutting it.

[kalakoa]

your taxes just aren't cutting it

Yes and no -- there's certainly a revenue shortage (examples: many people paying the "minimum" $25/year property tax; lowest fuel taxes in the state despite having the most miles of unpaved roads), but it's not clear that more money would be spent effectively (examples: pCard scandal, mayor and staff salaries at 3x median, a $20M park that costs $50M).

The "unmaintained private roads (open to the public)" play a part, too: besides the increased response time (putting it politely), County's posture towards these subdivisions sends a clear "we don't care" message which is understood by criminals of all stripes.

Large numbers of "part-time" residents means there are lots of houses left empty for 6-9 months out of the year -- not only do these attract pests, they also leave a hole in the economy: while the owners might not qualify for the resident property tax exemption, they're also not contributing any local revenue while off-island.

people engaged in criminal activity have an implicit guarantee that a team of state provided attorneys will look after their 'rights' if things go awry

Not the best use of our tax dollars, and a perfect example of how increased funding doesn't address the problem.

Perhaps County should start using civil asset forfeiture against bank-owned properties...