HERE'S some free advice to prospective criminals: don't do your dastardly deed and try to make a getaway during morning drive time. Tuning in to a posse
of crime bustersWe live in a time when ratting out wrong-doers is a national sport. And in Hawaii, KSSK radio's "posse" is a formidable network of snitches, whistle-blowers and junior G-men.
I was listening to radio guys Michael W. Perry and Larry Price the other day when the posse hog-tied a couple of creeps who had stolen a car from a teacher in Pearl City.
For me, it was an amazing drama, even though I know the posse has taken on a lot of more serious cases than this.
The posse basically is made up of listeners who keep their eyes out for stolen cars, fleeing robbers and other miscreants dumb enough to break the law during the prime-time radio hours. Since Perry and Price are the most-listened-to morning radio jocks, the posse literally numbers in the thousands.
As a columnist, I have to confess that I'm not an early morning person. Don't gotta be. So I don't catch early morning radio much. But fate had me coming to work with my wife and the only thing to do as a passenger was listen to the radio and fight off bouts of car sickness.
The long commute, however, allowed me to sit ringside for my first complete posse round up. It was fascinating. Here's how it went:
Perry and Price are notified that a car has been stolen from a teacher. Two punks sped away in a silver Celica.
Mike and Larry give the details to their listeners. Now, with all the cars on the road and most of them not going anywhere fast, the drivers have plenty of time to pretend like they are working for the FBI.
SURE enough, within minutes, a caller is on the air saying she saw the silver car getting on the freeway heading toward Honolulu.
A few songs are played, the helicopter traffic report comes on and then a few commercials are aired. Then another caller is on, saying that the silver car has been spotted near Tripler Army Hospital.
The game is on! The hounds are nipping at the heels of the two thieves.
After another song, a man calling from his car phone and almost whispering like a detective on a stakeout reports: "They're right next to me at a light."
Perry notes that the not-too-bright car jackers obviously weren't listening to the radio.
The man says the driver of the stolen car looked over at him and then sped off.
Not to worry. Another posse member is just a few blocks away. She says the bad guys are heading directly for a police car waiting down the road. (The police also apparently listen to KSSK.)
My wife and I pulled into the parking lot at work just as a final caller confirmed that the police had stopped the car and had the driver on the ground, handcuffing him.
Case closed. An entire drama wrapped up in the time it took to get to work.
But I thought, why is this happening now? Were people not interested in becoming remote-control sleuths or did they just not get a chance? "Rat TV" is a fairly new phenomenon. Shows like "America's Most Wanted" and "Unsolved Mysteries" have made crime-busting a hobby for millions of Americans. And now local radio not only offers entertainment but it has become a vast interactive crime-fighting mechanism. Listeners become players in a real life version of "Where's Waldo?"
In the old days, all Bonnie and Clyde had to do was cross a state line to get away. Today, the airwaves leave no place to hide.