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Police do cite
license-plate violators

Question: I have previously expressed my concern via the letter to the editor column about vehicles that do not display their license plates on the front bumper. More and more cars are seen without it and I am sure the traffic laws require both license plates to be displayed. I truly believe the HPD does not enforce this particular law. Could you ask the officer in charge of enforcing traffic violations and crimes: Why is this? How can we as citizens help identify wrongdoers if we cannot see the license plates?

Answer: We've touched on this subject in the past and, despite the perception that nothing is done, the Honolulu Police Department's records show they do cite violators.

Although some states require only rear license plates, Hawaii law (Hawaii Revised Statutes, 249-7) mandates both front and rear plates.

In fact, HPD last year "forcefully opposed" a proposal before the Legislature that only rear license plates be required in Hawaii, according to Capt. Jose Gaytan of the Traffic Division. The bill was not approved.

HPD issues an average of 2,500 to 3,000 citations a year for vehicles not having either a front or rear plate, Gaytan said.

You can send a letter to the Traffic Division with the license numbers and descriptions of vehicles with missing plates and HPD can send a warning letter to the registered owners, advising them of the law.

Better yet, Gaytan said, if you see a parked vehicle without a plate, call 911 and an officer can be sent to the area (barring other higher-priority cases).

In a previous Kokua Line, it was noted that a grace period is allowed for vehicles that have out-of-state plates issued by states that don't require front plates.

Q: Who supervises convicted law-breakers who are sentenced to community service? Is there any way to check to see if someone has completed his community-service sentence?

A: The Hawaii Judiciary's Community Service Sentencing Branch oversees the people sentenced to community service, making sure they fulfill their obligations.

If not, they could be sentenced to jail time.

As we reported previously, the branch is responsible "for training, supervising and monitoring the offenders at the work site until they fulfill the hours required by the courts."

The community-service workers wear no special clothing or anything to identify them as such and perform their duties at more than 320 workplaces.

More than half the beneficiaries of these sentenced community workers are nonprofit organizations. Typical jobs are grounds maintenance, clerical/receptionist work and building maintenance.

According to a spokeswoman for the state Judiciary, anyone seeking information on whether someone has fulfilled a community service sentence can check court records or, if the work has not been completed, contact the community service sentencing program for a status report.

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