Hawaii Crime Watch

[HCW Team]

Aloha!

WE just launched a new website / FREE public service called Hawaii Crime Watch. And are looking to get Hawaii's Online Community to assist Hawaii's Authorities by reporting (posting) any type of suspicous activity, criminal acts and things of that nature.

Let's help keep Hawaii safe for our future!

Mahalos ~
HCW Team
www.hawaiicrimewatch.com

[kimo55]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

oooh boy. reverse type. cardinal sin. that's one crime I would report.
hey; what's yer logo; a fighter getting hit with a boxing glove!?
and why?

[scrivener]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

I think I'm going to reserve judgment for now. I'm an anarchist at heart and therefore dislike laws in general and favor societal pressure for regulating the behavior of its citizens, and I don't know how this fits in with that.

I did a whois search and see that the domain is registered to a Marc in Aiea. A Google of his name turned up some web-design stuff and some mixed-martial-arts stuff, so that might explain the graphics.

One judgment I won't reserve is on the site admin's awful spelling and grammar. I'm very forgiving in this area, but it's clear that a lot of thought, time, and energy were put into making the site LOOK nice, but the terrible linguistic mechanics make the whole operation look like a high school project. HCW, if you're interested, I'd be glad to edit some of your administrative posts, but you'll have to send the text to me in email. Seriously, the grammar and spelling are atrocious.

The very first sentence on the page:
"Help keep Hawaii safe - report arsonists, vandalism, and any type of criminal activity to Hawaii's Finest's!!"

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

assist Hawaii's Authorities by reporting (posting) any type of suspicous activity, criminal acts and things of that nature.

Hoooo, boy... this raises all kinds of red flags for me! My first impression is that it's some kind of vigilante operation, as the website in question apparently has zero affiliation with any legitimate and sanctioned organization, such as HPD, HFD, etc.
As far as I can tell so far, it's just another forum where the type of people who engage in flame wars online or who have grudges against someone in real life can try to cause more trouble for their victims. It seems to be an opportunity to commit libel without fear of retribution.
You really should go into a helluva lot more detail in establishing any kind of credibility, both here and on the website. Plus, there's been nothing whatsoever in the local media.
Your website has a section apparently for people to file reports to the police and fire departments, so if this was truly a legitimate service the news media would've covered it. Why would anyone file reports on an independent non-official website instead of calling 9-1-1? I don't get it at all.

Mahalos ~
HCW Team

Who exactly is this "team"?
A quick search showed me the following:

Registrant:
Marc E********
**-**** Moanalua Rd.
Aiea, Hawaii 96701
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com
Domain Name: HAWAIICRIMEWATCH.COM
Created on: 12-Jul-05
Expires on: 12-Jul-06
Last Updated on: 12-Jul-05

I dunno. Color me extremely skeptical.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

In the last few months there have been several mentions in the news of the local chapter of the Guardian Angels. Wonder if this new site has anything to do with that?

[1stwahine]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

I wish you well in your fight against crime. Please be careful. Leave the "real" fighting to the experts at HPD, DEA, FBI & The Dept. of Fire Arms and Tobacco. Sometimes, I get mad at corruption which is going on...but must keep silent for in due time it will come out! Remember, when one is caught there is another who will take it's place...it's always been that way, it will always be that way. We can fight crime and try to keep it minimal...reality wise, from the beggining of time, crime is amongst us.

Be brave, don't be stupid

Auntie Lynn of Chinatown

[kimo55]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

the site tells us:

"... is a Public Service for Hawaii's community. Misuse of this service will not be tolerated, any abusive and degrading comments to any other member, person of importance, law enforcment agent or agencies will be removed from the forum and your account will be banned."


is "enforcment" when someone forcs you?


and what about degrading comments to person or persons of UNimportance?





OK... so; we are told this site is for:

"REPORT CRIME:
REPORT CRIME TO HAWAII'S POLICE:
Help Hawaii's finest fight crime!! Keep Hawaii safe for our families and friends and report the crime you see in your neighborhood.

REPORT TO FIRE DEPARTMENT:
Arsonist and brush fires has been a major problem this year. If you see something report it here and help the Hawaii Fire Department catch these criminals!

("If you see something report it here". Hey! I just saw a bird fly by! Oh, look; a tree!)

REPORT VANDALISM:
Vandalism has been on the rise these past days and the C&C has been there to clean up their dirty work. Help HPD find the coulprits behind those who ruin Hawaii with their so-called art.


.....JUST in the "past days"?
I would say I have seen this on the rise for a few years.
and what's a "coulprits"?
the name for those beHIND vandals!?
Huh?



ok! so, after all this, we are then told:

"...If you feel like you have vital information regarding any type of crime DO NOT POST IT HERE call 911 immediately!"
Jeez! Just negated all that you have said!



(and, uh.... how 'bout if i feel like a beer?)



awrite, I am convinced by now; It is a comedy site, created for our amusement. Gotta be!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

You know maybe were being a bit alarmist here but when I was living in Waialae Iki IV ridge we had/have a neighborhood crime watch via email grouplist.

If a neighbor or the author of the online crimewatch spotted unusual activity in the neighborhood or if someone wanted to report a property crime they could report it and it would be emailed to everybody in the neighborhood.

This is a very valuable resource because when a crime was reported thru the network of emails, everybody became more aware.

I'm not sure how HCW is going to act or react to any criminal or suspect criminal postings but at least it's a start in the right direction.

Our problem is that we become aware of a problem only when the media reports. HCW seems to be a conduit for word of mouth awareness which can be much more effective.

Before we blast HCW we should see if it does in fact work. My hunch is that it will. If it will expose Ice labs in our neighborhoods or other illicit activity then I'm willing to give it a try.

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

Dang, Kimo, ya beat me by just a couiple of minutes again! LOL
I did exactly what you did (checked out all four messages on the site) and came up with the exact same questions (who quantifies what makes a "person of importance"?). High five to ya, Kimo.
Here's what I found there, plus my own comments in boldface type:

Subject: RULES AND REGULATIONS:

Specific addresses, phone numbers, license plate numbers, names, and any type of personal information are prohibited and will not be tolerated by the Administrators of this forum. Then what the heck is the point of it all?

_ ABSOLUTELY NO FALSE INFORMATION shall be allowed to be posted in this forum. Is someone monitoring it 24/7 and pre-approving every message? If not, people can post any vicious and malicious thing they want and it might stay up on the site for hours or even days. By the time it's removed, the damage has been done. Just saying something is not allowed won't stop anybody. Administrators will have the right to trace your IP and report it to Authorities if any FALSE INFORMATION and/or reports are being made out of SPITE, SLANDER or DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER.

_ This is a Public Service for Hawaii's community. Then why aren't any law enforcement agencies involved with it? What makes you think they'll even look at it??? Misuse of this service will not be tolerated, any abusive and degrading comments to any other member, person of importance, law enforcment agent or agencies will be removed from the forum and your account will be banned. Ho, da brown-nosing!!!

_ When registering, if you would like to remain anonymous please do not enter your personal information like address, phone numbers, etc., Eh, doesn't this encourage flamers and troublemakers? Hawaii Crime Watch will not be liable for the consequences that may occur regarding the information you enter while registering.

_ By clicking on the “I Agree” button you agreed to follow these rules while browsing and posting in the boards.

*DISCLAIMER*
Hawaii Crime Watch is a Public Service for the community of Hawaii and all it's Islands. However, Hawaii Crime Watch and it's Creators will not be liable for anything posted and reported in this forum. According to whose legal opinion? I sure hope they checked with some attorneys before setting this all up. This service is soley used to report crime (that's what 9-1-1 is for!) and help Hawaii's Law Enforcment Officers. Help them HOW???

Please remember that we are not "911" for any emergency situations you encounter DO NOT use this service!! Please call 911!! If you feel like you have vital information regarding any type of crime DO NOT POST IT HERE call 911 immediately! Then, um, why... oh, never mind. It's too obvious.

Then another message:


Subject: WHO?

WHO?

Hawaii411, Security Alarm Shop and 808 Sites brings yet another useful service for the public.
Aloha.

Well, now it sounds more like an advertising site and a pure commercial venture. But you say it's a public service. Um...

And another message:

Subject: WHAT?

Hawaii Crime Watch is an organization (who comprises this "organization"?)that provides an easy-to-use, secure (secure? It's open to anyone and everyone!) and powerful tool (powerful how?) for Law Enforcement, and Community Program Leaders to assure neighborhood protection ("Assure"? Be careful of the legal ramifications of making promises you can't keep. You could've said to try to assure, for instance.) and community involvement with quick communications (Isn't that what radios and cell phones are for? What's so "quick" about an internet message board?) through this FREE online forum.
By reporting Alerts and Messages, Notifications, and Events Law Enforcement can communicate quickly and easily by just browsing the forum. (Or, um, even more quickly and easily just by using their radios and cell phones!)
The project is funded by Sponsors and Advertisments - please visit our Sponsor / Advertisment area if you are interested in supporting this project.

As you can see, Marc has lots of 'splaining to do, Lucy!

[kimo55]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

Subject: WHO?

WHO?

Hawaii411, Security Alarm Shop and 808 Sites brings yet another useful service for the public.

yea. that is the answer for their:
"Get an inside look at the people behind this project and what gave them the idea to create this public service website."
nope... doesn't do it for me. How 'bout you?
(looks like a pueo runs that department...)

The project is funded by Sponsors and Advertisments - please visit our Sponsor / Advertisment area if you are interested in supporting this project.

yea. "Advertisments" for the illiterate, apparently....

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

The project is funded by Sponsors and Advertisments - please visit our Sponsor / Advertisment area if you are interested in supporting this project.



There's nothing wrong with that statement. It's just asking people who like this site to solicit those sponsors that paid to help bring that website up financially, like a commercial that's all.

When I used to emcee fun fairs at Hokulani Elementary school I would openly ask those who benefitted from the fair to solicit those vendors that donated time and money for the fair, like Meadow Gold who provided some of the refreshments and door prizes.

Why are we being so negative about something that's trying to do some good? Okay it's not as professional as one would want and it's disclaimer is only trying to protect itself from liability claims.

As for monitoring, some message boards will have all postings go thru a verification process before the posting goes live. Hawaii Threads doesn't but that doesn't mean it will if flames and inuendo's begin to prevail over an innocent remark.

Regarding IP traces, I'm sure by agreeing to it's services, you agree to those stipulations as well.

And just because it's a public service that doesn't mean law inforcement needs to be involved. Look at KSSK's Posse. HPD has never endorsed it yet it does take a listen because it is a valuable tool in catching the thief.

There's a lot of public services that aren't connected with government agencies. Aloha United Way, Salvation Army, Goodwill are all prime examples of public services that aren't funded in any way by our government.

And HCW can make the claim that they aren't liable for postings simply with the disclaimer they put in front that you agree to before you can post. Same goes for the disclaimer for Hawaii Threads, same goes for the disclaimers that TV and Radio stations put prior to running infomercials. It's no different and it does clear them of certain liability.

For their disclaimer of not being 9-1-1 even every medical institution that has voice mail will tell you that if this is a medical emergency, hang up and dial 9-1-1 for obvious reasons.

I've worked in radio where we've run many infomercials and have had to author news reports that can put us in a position of high liability if not done correctly and these statements by HCW are simply standard liability disclaimers. It's usefulness is still apparent though as it's site does centralize thoughts and observations of those around us as to what's going on in our neighborhoods and that's better than nothing at all.

I say we give HCW a chance and prove their worthiness or lack there of.

[kimo55]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

The project is funded by Sponsors and Advertisments - please visit our Sponsor / Advertisment area if you are interested in supporting this project.



There's nothing wrong with that statement.

Well, ya shure, having said that, if ya put up a web site, that said, definately ya otta spell more gooder then that.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

Well if it boils down to that then I agree, but it's the thought that counts.

[kimo55]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

Well if it boils down to that then I agree, but it's the thought that counts.

I dunno. It may be misdirected thought.... and most definitely (or rather; definately) it was alotta effort for... uh.... what?
reminds me of that duuuuummmmb mic gruff truck commercial with that inANE song and stew PEED rhyming.
ok; so a kid hurts his knee. another kid waves down a truck; that happens to be connected to this program that happens to be within 3 yards of the skinned knee.
The driver hops out, frantically pushes the face of his cell phone and we magically have appear, a couple low rent theme park mascots standing around in the hot sun with a couple of local hip-hop lookin kids, playing ukulele to the camera. What did we just learn?!
NUH thin. Except:
Some PSA funds are being grossly mis spent.

[LikaNui]

Re: Hawaii Crime Watch

We are looking to get Hawaii's Online Community to assist Hawaii's Authorities by reporting (posting) any type of suspicous activity, criminal acts and things of that nature.

I re-quoted the above from the very first post in this thread as my answer to Craig Watanabe's most recent reply. I certainly understand all you said about supporting the sponsors, Craig, but that's all a very miniscule part of my questions.
I still fail to see, in any way, exactly what this HCW Team hopes to accomplish! Per their quote above, they're asking people to do... what? Rat on their neighbors for some perceived infraction? What possible advantage can there be in posting an internet message over simply dialing 9-1-1? Are we supposed to trust that the HCW Team will pass our message along to the authorities? If so, WHEN? And WHY do we need a middleman to do that for us? And again, why doesn't the website idetify who the heck the "team" is?
I've been involved with law enforcement agencies quite a bit, mainly in search-and-rescue operations. And from an enforcement standpoint, I don't see any advantage to this new site. On the contrary, I see where people might well be misled into thinking they're dealing with the authorities instead of with a private individual in Aiea who apparently has no connection to the authorities at all. Heck, I wonder if the authorities even know about this deal?!?!!
It all just seems to be misleading, and I just don't get the point of the whole thing.
We've all asked some pretty serious questions here. Now we need the HCW Team to respond. If they can successfully answer our questions, THEN we'll be inclined to support it.