|
Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Call police if dumping
poses riskQuestion: Who should we call when we see people dumping something on the street? We saw them take a dresser out of their house and walk it down to the sidewalk. A couple of days later, we saw it on the median strip on Waialae Avenue, near the intersection of Hunakai Street. We don't know who to call -- the police or the city -- to cite these people for dumping. They've dumped other things before.
Answer: It depends on the situation -- whether the dumped item is just an eyesore or a safety concern.
If it is a hazard, then by all means call police.
But police say that since you called after the fact, and because the dresser is more of an eyesore, you should have called the city refuse department for pickup and disposal.
Under most circumstances, that would be the correct agency to call, but it turns out that the median strip you cite falls under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Transportation.
However, by the time DOT highways officials were notified, the dresser was nowhere to be seen.
In the future, complaints like this can be reported to the department's Oahu highways hot line, 831-6714.
Although you provided the address of the people who allegedly dumped the dresser on the median, it's hard to tell from your account whether you actually saw them place it there, said a police administrator with the Honolulu Police Department's East Honolulu District.
Police have a hard time believing that the owners would risk placing the dresser in such a public place when they could simply leave it on the sidewalk for bulky-item pickup. They believe the more likely scenario was that someone else -- "juveniles," perhaps -- placed it on the median as a prank.
At this point, since you don't wish to give your name and come forth as a witness, police can't take any action.
The police administrator explained that an officer would have to observe the violation personally before a citation could be issued for littering or illegal dumping. Even if you were willing to be a witness, it would probably end up in court being your word against the accused -- unless there are other witnesses.
"The best suggestion on who to call -- regardless of whether it's city or state -- would be HPD if they see something happening and need an immediate response," said Carol Costa, director of the city Department of Customer Services.
Otherwise, she said to call the city complaints office at 523-4381, "and we will investigate. If it's on state property, we will send the complaint over to DOT."
Costa said there is no reason for people to dump their trash and unwanted items on median strips, vacant lots, gullies, etc.
"They should call the city, and we can give them the time line when the bulky-item pickup truck will be in their area," she said.
By district, the numbers to call are: Honolulu: 523-4685; Kailua: 262-4346; Kaneohe: 247-3553; Koolauloa (Laie); 293-5657; Pearl City: 455-1725; Wahiawa: 621-5241; Waialua: 637-4795; and Waianae: 696-3421.
|
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com
