Hāmākua Coast Crime Report: January 2019

The Hawai‘i Police Department’s Hāmākua Coast Community officers responded to two burglaries, 12 thefts, one assault and one sexual assault in January 2019.

No auto thefts, criminal property damage incidents, drug-related incidents, murders or robberies were reported in this time frame.

HONOKA‘A

Police Email Scam Warning

Hawai’i Police Department would like to warn the public about an email scam that was recently reported.

A board member of a Big Island community association was contacted via e-mail by what appeared to be another board member. In the e-mail, the board member was directed to write and mail out a check for administrative and operating expenses, via UPS/FedEx, with next day delivery to an address in Mobile, Alabama. At first glance, the e-mail appeared to have originated from another board member, however, upon closer review it was determined the e-mail address of the sender was not familiar, and the board member confirmed the e-mail was not legitimate therefore no money was sent.

Police advise anyone who receives email requests for money to first verify the request is legitimate. One way to do this is by personally contacting the sender either in a separate -mail, via telephone, or in person. Also, if an email contains a website link to click on to update account information or to make payment, police advise the public to open a separate internet window and navigate directly to the website to ensure the request is valid. Often, in email scams, the included website link will take the individual to a fraudulent site which will then be used to gather personal information such as banking and credit card information. In any event, the public is advised against sending money to anyone unless they are sure the request is bonafide.

Scams, such as this one, can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov. Additional information about recently reported scams can also be found via the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

DUI Stats

Previously published: Feb. 13, 2019

During the week of Feb. 4 to 10, 2019, Hawaiʻi Island police arrested 25 motorists for driving under the influence of an intoxicant.

So far this year, there have been 119 DUI arrests compared with 120 during the same period last year, a decrease of 0.83%. The numbers of arrests by district were:

DUI ARREST BY DISTRICT

There have been 99 major accidents so far this year compared with 117 during the same period last year, a decrease of 15.4%.

To date, there were two fatal crashes, resulting in two fatalities, compared with one fatal crash, resulting in 2 fatalities for the same time last year. This represents an increase of 100% for fatal crashes.

DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue islandwide.

MAHALO NUI LOA

A special mahalo goes out to the Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool staff, parents and caregivers of Honoka‘a for participating in a Child Safety Seat Presentation and Inspection on Jan. 30 at the Honoka‘a Sports Complex. Officer John Kari and Officer Joseph Rocha gave a safety presentation of best practices for selection and placement of the child safety seats within a vehicle as well as answer questions. The officers were able to conduct the screening of eight seats total.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Honokaʻa Station (Hāmākua District)

Hours 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (except weekends and holidays)

Commander: Captain Albert Cortez (808) 775-7533
Police station location: 45-3400 Māmane Street, Honokaʻa
District boundaries: the North Hilo District at Kaʻala Gulch/the South Kohala District at Lakeland

For police service, call the police department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311.

In an emergency, call 911.