STORYLINE

Tipline Shutdown After Swatting Incident, Local Man Arrested

The Lahaina Police Department have temporarily shutdown their ceremplant tipline, Tel-IT, only months after its launch. A second swatting incident, this time at the popular Abramo Chop House, has officials saying that they will take a closer look at how the system operates, and add training to better deal with false reports. Nobody was seriously injured in the episode Saturday evening. Police have arrested 35-year-old Gary Puniwale for submitting the tip leading to the incident and abusing the system, calling the local resident “criminally ignorant.”

After the vicious Veilcorp attack this Spring many had one question on their minds, “What can we do to make sure this never happens again?” In addition to tighter security around the Lahaina Veil Station, and increasing the number of emergency personnel, the police released the Tel-IT system, banking on citizen policing to help islanders feel more secure.

“Report a Crime In No Time!” was the slogan that launched Tel-IT in June. Based on the controversial PZTip reporting app, which allowed residents to use their ceremplants to report preservation zone violations, Tel-IT quickly ran into some of the same problems. In addition to being swamped by frivolous tips, and numerous complaints, the police have had to deal with a handful of more serious issues, like the swatting incident this weekend, thanks to people like Gary.

According to Bob Abramo it was a normal busy Saturday evening at the Chop House until the flash grenade went off in the dining room.

“It was the middle of the dinner rush and all of a sudden windows were breaking and flash-bangs were going off in the dining room. They wouldn’t even let my customers cover the bread before getting on the floor. I had to comp dozens of meals. They stormed the kitchen looking for hostages, but didn’t find anything but the best steak and pork on the island. Someone said that we were holding federal agents in the walk-in cooler, and working with Gaia Guard to get rid of them. It was ridiculous! It screwed up the whole service. We didn’t turn tables in time for the next sitting, and the grenades totally flattened the soufflettes. I remember wishing that I could watch whoever was responsible die in the window with all the steaks waiting to go out. I’m not surprised to find out Gary was responsible.”

Police refuse to discuss specifics in the case, but confirm that they have arrested local resident Gary Puniwale in connection with the false report. A fact checker for the Lahaina Advertiser, this is not the first time Puniwale has run into trouble with the Tel-IT system. Reports show that since its inception, the 35-year-old has sent in well over a thousand tips, and many inside the department consider Gary hopeless.

An anonymous source inside the department says that Puniwale has been contacted numerous times about his excessive use of the system, and had been warned that further abuse would lead to legal action. They say, “Unfortunately the anonymous nature of the Tel-IT service has made weeding people like Gary out a real problem. He has reported just about everything you can imagine. While most are minor infractions like littering or jaywalking, there are numerous reports of serious crimes as well. Ranging from a home invasion that turned out to be a child’s birthday party, a family game night reported as a murder in progress, allegations about illegal experiments at the SSHAM factory, and of course the hostage thing at the Chop House. He definitely needs to be stopped, but I don’t think he’s being malicious, it just seems like he believes everything he reads.”

Mr. Abramo says that he appreciates what the police are trying to do, but says the tipline is causing more harm than good currently. In addition, he has little sympathy for Puniwale, and those who would abuse the Tel-IT system.

“They tell me that Gary’s tip wasn’t ill-intentioned, and I guess I can believe that. You have to have a brain to have intentions. Have you ever read the Advertiser’s weekly Corrections and Clarifications page? Gary is their fact checker, and lets just say many facts are overlooked on a daily basis under his watch. I still have a hard time believing that anyone would follow up any tip Gary submitted. It’s insane to believe that we’d just chop someone up, and serve them without cleansing their system with a grain and fruit diet for at least a week beforehand. There’s no telling what people eat these days. On top of that, do you know how much damage adrenaline does to the flavor of meat? The idea that we could just pass off a bunch of scared, junk food eating federal agents, as one of our top of the line pork dishes is offensive to say the least! I hope that Gary gets served a heaping portion of jail time, saving his family the embarrassment he must cause on a daily basis, and the police fix their crappy system before someone gets hurt.”

STORYLINE

New app allows public to report violations in the preservation zone

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People witnessing a violation of preservations zone rules just got an easy way to report the infractions using their smart device or their ceremplant. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), in association with the county of Maui, created an app called PZTip. It allows you to report a violation by providing details, photos, and video of illegal or suspected illegal activity in real time.
PZTip lets people connect directly with a special group of rapid response DLNR officers who can catch violators in the act. The app allows reporters to provide information that can lead to the arrest of anyone who hunts or harasses protected wildlife species, pollutes, litters, or violates any other preservation zone rules.

“Protecting our beautiful wild places and cultural resources will be a lot easier, with the help of the thousands of eyes and ears of concerned citizens. Despite our best efforts, we haven’t figured out a way to be everywhere yet. We believe that PZTip will be a game changer for our department and our people in the field. When a citizen calls in a tip, our coordination center dispatches the closest member of our rapid-response team to investigate. In the past, catching violators in the act and tracking down offenders was exceedingly difficult. The PZTip system helps expedite tips of wrongdoing and our responses,” said DLNR senior investigator Greg Iona.

Not everyone shares the DLNR’s enthusiasm however. Ronnie Kalipalani owner of Ronnie Kalipalani Construction has been a vocal critic of the program and says it is ruining the aloha spirit of the island.

“Creating a culture of distrust and an atmosphere of fear is not what we should be about. This campaign has already interfered with my business. While we were working on building an addition to a home near the preservations zone, we found a nice little area on a nearby bluff. It was great for lunch breaks or if my crew just needed some time. I know that when I make a mistake measuring or something, it helps to take an hour or so to get my mind straight. The bluff was perfect for that. We hauled in some nice chairs, a table, and a little solar powered fridge. It was paradise, but someone must have seen us and called in a tip. Next thing you know they’ve impounded the fridge and gave me a ticket for every item in our little break room. All together it’s going to cost me almost $10,000. It’s not like we were going to leave everything up there forever. I don’t know how they expect us to keep our beer cold now. More importantly, our morale has taken a big hit. I understand that people are concerned about protecting the environment but I don’t think setting up a group of secret informants is the right way to do it.”

The PZTip app is completely anonymous, as the technology removes all identifying information before officers see tips. This anonymous feature has led to a number of complaints about false accusations and Iona admits that his office has had to deal with a number of reports that have turned out to be unwarranted. However, it is not the prank reports that has many concerned. It is the marketing campaign around the app that has some raising their eyebrows.

In conjunction with the app’s release, the county has rolled out an advertising campaign that many are calling Orwellian in nature. Signs promoting the program direct the public to report any suspected violation even if the tipster in unsure if a law has been broken. Numerous posters urge residents and tourists alike to use live recording apps such as Manimal’s X-eyez, so they can keep a complete video log of suspected violations with lines like, “Better safe than sorry!” Others seem to encourage residents to follow tourists around to ensure that they don’t break the rules saying, “They don’t live here, you do. Make sure they’re not leaving a mess!” But it is the ads targeting children that has seen the most pushback. A commercial showing a fawn tangled in plastic and urging children to report littering parents before they “kill all the little animals,” has already been pulled but others of a similar tone are still being run.

Compliance Liaison to the Mayor’s Office Elizabeth Stonegate, says that the pushback to the program is nonsense and naive. She says that having a little fear of being reported to the DLNR is healthy, and that only people breaking the law need to be afraid. “If you didn’t do the crime you won’t have to pay the fine. It’s as simple as that,” she says.

“Everyone who has a sibling, cousin, or close family member knows the power of the statement, ‘If you don’t stop doing that, I’m going to tell.’ Fear of being told on when you’re doing something wrong is the cornerstone of every successful family and functional government. Without the possibility of repercussions nobody would follow the rules or pull their weight. Most people don’t do what they’re supposed to because of some sort of intrinsic goodness or sense of duty. They do it because they’re scared of being told on. I’m sorry if the people living in Lollipop Land don’t understand that. The PZTip app is the most powerful tool we have to force people to follow the rules. If parents did a better job of teaching their children by example, we wouldn’t have to instill proper values in them through our school outreach programs. I’m sorry if it upsets the haters, but the app is here to stay.”