And so far police have arrested fourteen people in connection to various burglary rings on the Big Island and Kauai.
These men and women have been arrested in connection with multiple burglaries, break-ins and car thefts over the past few months.
Officers and detectives are working closely with the community to tackle these crimes.
Jon Sabatti, who lives in Kona, was out with his family celebrating his daughter’s birthday- when his home became the latest target in a string of burglaries
"We found our house broken into and just trashed. They broke a window came in and tore the house apart," said Sabati.
Police say a group of thieves have been ransacking homes all over the Kona area.
In a community meeting last week, police warned residents that these burglars could be monitoring their whereabouts over the internet.
"These people frequent facebook, twitter and other social media accounts and tell them ‘off to work today’ or ‘going to the store."
But now the community is banding together- using those same methods to fight back.
"Use instant text messaging, email, facebook, anytime there’s been incidents or suspicious activity we just blast it out and the response has been great," says Sabati.
"We’re becoming almost like minute men and helping the police become the ears and eyes of the community ," he continues.
The Hawaii Police Department announced Wednesday the arrest of ten individuals in connection with a drug-related burglary ring.
On Kauai, another burglary bust where four men were arrested in a suspected ring that targeted homes from Kapa’a to Omao.
"Based on preliminary information we believe this was a concerted effort and there may be others involved that we’re still looking into," said Kauai Police Chief Darryl Perry.
"We need to be vigilant, we need to report any suspicious activity and hopefully by banding together as a community we can put a stop to this," said Sabatti.
Along with forming a neighborhood watch group, police recommend placing wood dowels in sliding windows and door tracks, keep shrubs and hedges trimmed back, and consider installing motion detection lighting in dark areas.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
