A Facebook group puts thousands on the alert for stolen items in Hawaii

With robberies, thefts and burglaries more commonplace during the holidays, Honolulu police last month advised the public to take precautions and secure property as a means to thwarting thieves intent on stealing Christmas.

But even focused vigilance can sometimes fall short, leaving the victim feeling somewhat helpless.

What if there were thousands of people you could instantly warn and ask to be on the lookout for your stolen goods?

There are. You can now become Facebook friends with people in Hawaii who are not only the eyes and ears that could help lead to the recovery of stolen property, but who can help police apprehend thieves, robbers and burglars.

Stolen Stuff Hawaii creator Michael Kitchens had all the right stuff to harness the tremendous power of social media to help recover stolen property, capture bad guys and find missing kids and pets.

A former military police officer turned Web designer, Kitchens previously ran quite a few forums and discussion boards.

Stolen Stuff Hawaii, a public Facebook group, allows posts only from people who live in Hawaii or are stationed in the military here.

“People around me were getting stuff stolen,” Kitchens said. That included his landscaper brother-in-law, whose work van full of tools was broken into. “That’s his livelihood,” he said. “It’s such a tragedy. The thieves don’t care, but they don’t think of what it will do to people, how it hurts people. They could lose their job.”

So Kitchens began looking to social media, quickly realizing there was no place to post about stolen items in Hawaii.

“Social media is the future for handling stuff like this. It’s immediate. It’s quick. It’s easy. It is a powerful tool for law enforcement. What we’re doing is we’re doing a statewide neighborhood watch. That’s what it’s become,” he said.

Stolen Stuff Hawaii debuted July 27, 2014.

“We get people from all walks of life: reformed criminals … law enforcement, regular average Joes, rich people, poor people. It’s really a collection of people across the state of Hawaii,” he said.

Detective senses

When people post about a stolen vehicle, members ask for the time and location of the theft. “They become detectives amongst themselves,” he said.

He attributes the success to the immediacy of social media, and “everybody’s got a camera on the cellphone.”

And “people love drama,” he said. “People love that stuff. There’s so much crap going on. You could read all this stuff going on. … It’s addictive.”

While at first the page was all about stolen stuff, its focus has expanded and a lot of its traffic has been about locating missing pets.

But it took a while for the page to gain traction, Kitchens said.

In February a story about some stolen wheels gave the page some legs. “For some reason it got shared to the right people,” Kitchens said. “It just started steamrolling.”

That month, 25 to 50 new people were joining per day. “Now it’s anywhere from 50 to 100 easy,” he said in October, when membership had swollen to 27,000.

In two months it jumped up by about 8,000 to more than 36,000 this week.

“That’s a lot,” said one active member, Monty Amituanai. But he’s not surprised how it’s grown. “Once you post it, all your friends look at it, and they like it and it keeps on adding” to the membership, he said.

In October the Waimanalo resident said, he got a call from a friend who owns Keolu Market in Enchanted Lake about a robbery attempt. Two men were caught on surveillance cameras trying to take game machines from the store, police later said in charging documents. One of the men held the owner in a chokehold, causing him to briefly lose consciousness.

Quick response

Amituanai went to the store, recorded what was on the surveillance cameras, including the owner being held in a chokehold, and posted it to Stolen Stuff Hawaii.

“When I posted it, one of the girls on the website immediately messaged me, not even 10 to 15 minutes later,” he said. She first recognized the pickup truck, then the suspects, and sent him photos. He relayed the information to police, who said tips from the public led to the arrest of one suspect.

The video was seen well before a CrimeStoppers bulletin was issued.

Amituanai said he can empathize with victims. His work tools were stolen about five years ago despite a $1,500, locked cover securing them in the bed of his truck. “I was a victim,” he said. “Many times I had stuff stolen.”

He cautions members to keep their Facebook profile information private because one never knows who may be lurking on the page, possibly to retaliate.

There are members who have told him they want to confront the wrongdoers, but “that’s not safe,” he says.

Kitchens said Facebook is limited in its abilities, particularly as a search tool, so he’s building a companion website, stolenstuffhawaii.com.

That website will allow searches for information such as, “What type of alarm system can I get?” It also will provide resources and links to law enforcement. It will be integrated into the Facebook page, work on mobile devices, have a place to put in the make and model of stolen cars, and feature a locator map.

So what about Stolen Stuff Hawaii is driving its success?

“I really don’t find stolen stuff,” Kitchens said. “I just moderate and manage the group, and … I keep it hospitable.

“There’s a lot of new people posting. They specifically post about what happened to them,” he added. “They need to feel like they can come and post. They just got victimized and their security stolen. The last thing you want is a lot of venting, frustration and anger.”

Amituanai says he’s never met Kitchens, but he has messaged him, encouraging him to make T-shirts as well as car and window stickers alerting thieves they are being watched by Stolen Stuff Hawaii.

He’s even thought about enlisting off-duty police officers to recover the stolen stuff.

“I’m just happy to see so many out there willing to help others,” he said. “They’re not scared to post stuff.”