Police Remind Public of Kuleana Hotline

The Hawai’i Police Department is reminding the public of its island-wide Kuleana Hotline, set up to allow the public to call and report warning signs that could potential lead to harm against the community.

Police are reminding the public of the hotline “in light of recent tragedies on the mainland.”

Emergency situations should always reported by calling 9-1-1, and the Kuleana Hotline is not a substitute.

The Kuleana Hotline is designed to prevent tragic events in public places, like schools, restaurants, and other locations where the community gathers.

Police say the hotline is different than Crime Stoppers, which provides citizens the opportunity to report information anonymously regarding a specific crime. The Kuleana Hotline provides an outlet to report something that has not developed into a crime but has the potential to turn disastrous if not prevented.

”Many tragedies committed by individuals or organized groups have been preceded by warning signs. We as a community are responsible for notifying the police if we see or hear anything that has the potential to turn into a malicious act,” HPD said in a release.

Examples for proper use of the Kuleana Hotline are below:

• If you read a post on a social networking site about a person interested in purchasing a firearm and the person signals intent to cause harm with that weapon;
• If you witness suspicious activity around public buildings, utility companies or bridges;.
• If you see something or someone’s behavior that may seem innocuous but gives you a “funny feeling” in your stomach that something is “just not right.”

The Kuleana Hotline is 961-2219.

Callers may not reach a person, and instead be asked to leave a voice mail message, since the hotline is not manned around the clock.

The line does not have caller ID and those who do not wish to be called back should leave enough details for police to follow up on the lead.

”’Kuleana”’is the Hawaiian word for responsibility. The significance of the hotline’s name is that we are all neighbors living on this island together, and we are all responsible for preventing acts of terror or mass injury,” said HPD.