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Hey, I just want to let you all know that there is an auto theft ring going on at the Ahalanui hot pond. The cops know about it but don't seem to want to do anything about it. Oh, they say they have tried stake outs but they just never get any action when they are there. We come over about once a year to check on our property in Puna and stay for a week or so. The day before we left on January 19th we partially packed our rental car and then got the bright idea to go to relax in the pond one more time before returning home to the cold. After getting in the water someone asked if anyone had a cell phone cause their car was just stolen from the parking lot. My husband went to get our car keys outta the bag and it was gone with a guy running across the grass. He pursued the guy and got to the car in time for the thief to lock the doors. He got away with our car and about $4000 worth of stuff including all of our pictures for the last two weeks of our vacation. I found another person online that this happened to the week before us, same scenerio.
The cops took our report and said that it happens 2 to 3 times per week out of the hot pond. Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?? I have spoke with our councilwoman, Emily Naeole, (808-965-2713), and Kevin at the Mayor's office (808-961-8508) and both are fired up and want to light a fire under the police to take care of this issue. It seems that there is a huge problem with burglary and auto theft in Puna right now and it is sad. It not only hurts the people it happens to but people have mouths and they tend to use them when something bad happens. That means less people coming to visit that side and less revenue and property values go down too.
I would like to ask anyone who is interested in getting involved to contact the Mayor and Councilwoman and anyone else you can think of to show that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. The more people they hear from the more ammo they will have to fix the situation and they DO want to hear from you. I even found one of my cameras on Craigslist and when I asked the cop to follow up on the lead he said that would be entrapment....HELLO!!!!! Aren't they TRYING to CATCH these thieves?? Apparently not! So I will step down off my soap box now and leave the decision to you...I hope you will join with me and others in helping to make our part of the island safe for everyone. Sorry this was so lenghty, but I feel it is important to get involved and take care of our area...if we don't, who will?? I'm open to any suggestions??
Thanks, Lori
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Lori thank you for sharing your story. It's a terrible thing you've been through and I wholeheartedly agree that something must be done. This topic is not a new one and we have talked at great length about it.
Your suggestion to contact the Mayor and Ms. Naole at good one and I hope that people will take the opportunity to do that. Unfortunately, I have no desire to visit the hotponds with that kind of activity happening so often.
Carrie Rojo
http://www.carrierojo.etsy.com
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." Barack Obama
Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
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Tigermom: You have a right to be upset. The local police and park authorities are the ones in charge here. However, the good people of Puna have to do something collectively and not let the theives make all of the decisions and take over all of the good places. At minimum there should be a large sign posted "DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN YOUR CAR & DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR KEYS UNATTENDED". Best bet is to bring your ID only with your car key on a neck chain or water proof holder. Applies to any activity at the water's edge such as snorkeling. Until there are major arrests and lots of prison time this problem will persist.
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Thanks for your reply Carrie...the quote you have at the bottom of your post is exactly what I am attempting to do is to get people to get motivated enough to force those in power to make the change for the greater good.
Unfortunately, some people will read this and just say "wow, that is a bummer, but it didn't happen to me so I don't need to take any action myself".
What happened to us and others (2 to 3 times per week at this spot) has a FAR REACHING RIPPLE EFFECT that some are not seeing or thinking about. It has obviously touched you to the point of taking away your desire to visit such a peaceful, beautiful place and mine also. I don't want someone esles dispicable actions to affect what I do in my life although right now they are affecting me.
If anyone is thinking that it doesn't touch them then I am here to tell you that it is does in some way you may not have thought about. Sorry for the passion...but I have to make everyone aware who are willing to hear the message. It starts with the people it happened to, then it affects the local businesses who gave these thieves their goods with our stolen bank card (only one charge before we got it shut down, thank God), that money has been refunded to our account but Paul's Auto Repair where they took the items from are still out those items without being paid. Do that to a business many times over and it really begins to hurt them and if they file a claim with their insurance co. then their rates go up and they pass along the charge to you, the customer.
Speaking of insurance...how about our own insurance? My car insurance AND my credit card are going to share the cost of replacing the vehicle that was never recovered because no one cares to find it. Thus, my premiums (and yours too) will go up AND I have a large deductible to pay before they will replace and reimburse us for anything. So I am touched by these thieves once again. We all had to take time out of our days and jobs to go to the DMV to get new licenses that were stolen. We even had a hard time getting on the plane the next day when we were leaving! We were treated like we were terrorists because we didn't have any ID on us because it is sitting in a garbage can somewhere. The worst part? They got our cameras and all of our pictures for the last 2 weeks with our kids and that is the saddest thing of all.
How about the rental car company? Sure, OUR car will be covered but other people may not be able to pay for their stolen vehicles. Then the car rental agengies raise their rates because it is happening all the time so they are forced to pass on their higher rates to you, the customer...not just in Hawaii but wherever you rent a car.
It's time to stand up and make enough noise to move people into action...that is what I am doing and I hope you will too. Thanks for taking the time to listen to my rant.
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Re: the charge for Pauls auto repair. If you got gas and charged your credit card it comes up Pauls auto repair. The same thing happend to us. We thought we didn't take our car in but then we realized we got gas there. They need to post signs saying it will come up with that name.
Jade
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Car theft at hot ponds in my mind is a symptom of a bigger problem. Kind of like a civil cancer. The more the symptom is ignored the more it is likely to balloon into a fatal problem.
Looking at Tijuana for example the tourist business has gone to zero and the locals just don't venture out at night anymore.
Puna community has to attack this in both directions. Education of the locals & tourists, then confronting the theives with police presence & arrests & jail time.
BTW per your report "I even found one of my cameras on Craigslist and when I asked the cop to follow up on the lead he said that would be entrapment...." If that is actually the real police attituce I'd be worried. Tracking down crime is what police get paid to do.
Working the Pawn Shops and Craiglist is a normal part of tracking down thieves and low lifes.
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What a horrible experience and it sounds like it is happening more and more often. It seems to me that if an undercover car sat in the lot there, they could watch the thieves in action. First off, the thieves must be watching the cars and people. They have to know who owns what car in order to be sure you are in the water and know that they can grab your keys. If the unmarked car sat and waited from a corner of the parking lot or if they sat on the picnic tables looking like they were having a picnic, then it seems like it would be easy to watch any action going on. Unfortunately many cell phones do not work down there. That is a real problem in trying to catch and report thefts. It is really a shame that this happened to you Lori!
We just had one of our credit card numbers compromised and the thieves charged up $1200 in about 1 day. Our credit card company caught them in the act before we knew anything about it. But then we were without that card for 5 days while they replaced it and there are still 6 charges on our account that are not ours. We have been on the phone five times trying to straighten it out and that is JUST one card. They will get it all straightened out and so will you, but the time and invasion of your life is what is a real pain. You lost so much, more importantly irreplaceable things like your pictures.
Just wondering, whose territory that area falls under for police protection? It might help if the community rose up and wrote them demanding protection. Many people think that it is just a tourist place and that is not something that effects them. However, all of Hawaii effects all of us living here. Allowing crimes like this is a crime in itself. I live in Hilo, not Puna, but I go there a lot. I love Puna and I hate to see this happening there or anywhere.
A community watch there would probably be more than anyone here would want to do. The police need to be willing to chase these creeps down if there was such a watch.
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
www.eastbaypotters.com
www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
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The police in our area of the island, the Hamakua coast, are much more pro-active. We had an officer drop by yesterday asking if we had seen any activity at an old building near our house since someone had broken in and taken four weedwhackers, some welding equipment and a bicycle. There has also been a house break-in in Ninole along the coast lately. The day before that one, a gray Mazda pickup truck, single cab with darkened windows was seen in the driveway. I've been talking to folks in the neighborhood and found out about a strange car going down someone's remote driveway and a lock that they tried to break on a storage container but weren't able to open. So this sort of activity is happening again. The last time we had a spate of break-ins along the coast, the police caught the thief and he was sentenced to ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY EIGHT CONSECUTIVE YEARS IN JAIL. In our area, thieves are sought, caught and put away for life.
Be alert, be aware of new vehicles and people in your neighborhood. When you see them, list the license plate number, a description of the vehicle (or take a picture with your cell phone), the time and place it was seen. Keep a log and each week collect the data from the rest of the folks in the neighborhood and turn it in to your local police department. Ask your local officer about setting up a formal Neighborhood Watch program. The police can't do it on their own, there isn't enough of them they don't know who belongs in each neighborhood and we do. They need us to watch and report.
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Kurt Wilson
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Kurt Wilson
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I am truely sorry for your loss, and truely HATE a thief. The County has a security guard at the new Issak Hale park. Maybe they could employ one at Ahalanui as well.
That said; We must encourage folks to watch their sh*t when visiting any public area. It's not just rural Hawaii though, I wouldn't leave a bag, camera, or car keys unnattended in LA, Ft. Lauderdale, or Podunk Arkansas. Maybe a sign IS neccessary.
I visit the beach regularly and don't like to take my car keys in the water. What I do is take a little time before I go in, check the area out, find a landmark, and clandestinely drop my keys on the ground. I then cover them with some leaf debris. So far, I have been able to find them again and haven't been ripped off.
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One problem, didn’t the people want the police to be looking for people stealing construction equipment as a priority? Or was it they want them chasing down dog owners who let their dogs run loose as the priority? No, it was dealing with rooster noise complaints as a priority. Hum, I think it was traffic enforcement as the priority. Oh yeah, parking enforcement was the priority unless the priority is still business breakins? Oopps my mistake, it was spousal and child abuse in Puna as the priority, or was it drunks? Can't keep up with all the people's "priorities" of the moment for the police.
The problem is not that the police won't do anything the problem is there's not enough police to do the job based on crime. Police follow crime as in they get resources based on crime which lags the actual crimes. So if they have enough for what is going on today and that increased tomorrow, their resources are allocated next go around.
But good news, contacting your Councilmember and Mayor's office each time will send a very strong message that crime must be dealt with immediately. If that means government must raise property taxes to deal with what the people want, government must do it because that’s what the people want.
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