Battlefield conditions created by illegal fireworks that consume Honolulu every New Year’s Eve have become a nearly year-round affair, prompting lawmakers to call for more enforcement and new laws.
Setting off fireworks to celebrate the new year is a time-honored tradition for many Hawaii families. However, aerials, improvised explosive devices and pyrotechnics that create loud explosions are illegal and anger many residents. People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders, medical conditions, and pets sensitive to sound are adversely affected by the illegal recreational explosions.
Despite the fact that aerial fireworks were banned statewide in 2000 save for professionally contracted, public displays, the demand and supply for aerials has not diminished much if at all. Enforcing existing statewide and individual county-by-county statutes is difficult.
The Honolulu Police Department said that on Oahu from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, it beefed up staffing with plainclothes and uniformed officers in each patrol district. Officers made one arrest and issued 32 citations after receiving 800 fireworks-related calls. Among the citations, according to HPD, was one issued at a Kailua home where officers recovered more than 450 pounds of illegal fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
From Nov. 28 to Saturday, the count of fireworks-related calls to 911 added up to 3,750, according to HPD. During that time frame, four people were arrested, and about 50 others were cited for fireworks violations, police said.
Since Dec. 1, 2017, only 15 people have been arrested on Oahu for violating fireworks laws.
Councilman Augie Tulba, vice chairman of the Honolulu City Council’s public safety committee, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser the low number of arrests and citations come nowhere close to what residents witnessed in Oahu neighborhoods and on social media.
“Our office received complaints about illegal fireworks from constituents, and I’ve read many negative comments on social media. It is a tradition to have firecrackers on New Year’s Eve and Fourth of July, but we have illegal fireworks being used all year long. We have people setting off fireworks in the middle of the night or early morning hours in all of our communities,” said Tulba. “This scares people’s pets, wild animals, birds, people with PTSD, and upsets the rest of us who are trying to sleep. This can also be a fire hazard. This has to stop. It is about respect.”
Possession or use of aerial fireworks in Hawaii is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm told the Star-Advertiser that fireworks offenses are often difficult to prove in court.
“In many cases neighbors are the only witnesses who can positively identify a person who launches aerial fireworks, and they understandably may be reluctant to testify. It is also difficult to prove that a particular firework meets the legal definition of an ‘aerial device’ since there is no evidence available for scientific analysis once it has been detonated,” said Alm. “A case where a person is caught possessing large quantities of unexploded fireworks is different. In that situation it is much easier to perform a scientific analysis of the fireworks, and we are not reliant on testimony by neighbors. We will, of course, review any case brought to us by HPD and prosecute if we have evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Alm said he welcomes efforts to update existing laws to make it easier to prosecute offenders but that a more effective approach would be to target the shipments of fireworks at their source: the ports where they enter Hawaii.
“This would require the cooperation of many state, county and federal partners, and I will be reaching out to these partners to discuss how to best address these problems and hopefully lead to successful prosecutions,” he said.
HPD declined a request for an interview about illegal fireworks, but Tulba said he is requesting a formal report from HPD about the number of complaints it received and the department’s approach to enforcement.
“We have a finite amount of resources,” HPD’s Capt. Stason Tanaka told reporters Dec. 23 in reference to enforcement of fireworks laws. “We encourage the community to help us, whether that be reporting violations that they see or in this case hear; we encourage them to call 911. An officer will be dispatched to investigate and take appropriate action.”
Tanaka acknowledged the difficulty of turning in neighbors but urged the public to take the extra step, forgo anonymity and submit a written witness statement, video evidence or pictures of illegal firework use.
“It’s going to take cooperation from an entire neighborhood to prevent illegal fireworks on their block. We need to respect our neighbors, but we also need a little bit of public shame to make these bad actors second-guess if they want to light fireworks at 2 a.m.,” said Tulba. “I like the idea of more public campaigns about how these noise disruptions impact animals, the kupuna and, really, the entire community. Maybe some of the fireworks permit fees could go towards these kinds of efforts and PSAs (public service announcements).”
Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga said current firework prohibitions might not work and that a total ban may be needed.
“I have received lots of complaints from constituents that existing laws are insufficient, as shown by the low level of arrests/citations for enforcement — in spite of Act 248’s tougher penalties,” she said. She also said she has gotten more calls for a complete ban as a way to reduce “the constant detonation of what’s characterized as military-grade explosives (or ‘booms’) this past summer and fall.”
Gov. David Ige in 2019 signed into law Act 248, lowering the threshold of probable cause for an arrest to include statements from people who witness violations even though they are not law enforcement officers; and allowing photos, video or other recordings showing the commission of the offense authenticated by one or more witnesses. It also assigns liability to the homeowner, renter or property owner for the use of illegal fireworks.
On Oahu, which has the most restrictive fireworks ordinance, the possession and use of snakes, sparklers, cylindrical or cone fountains, illuminating torches, bamboo cannons, whistles, toy smoke devices, wheels, ground spinners, novelty or trick items, combination items, paperless firecrackers and other fireworks of like construction were outlawed at the county level on Jan. 2, 2011.
Councilman Calvin Say, chairman of the Budget Committee, said he will be watching a proposal at the state Legislature by state Rep. Jackson Sayama calling for a review of current federal and state law enforcement practices at all state ports of entry, with an eye toward products and items that could potentially become homemade bombs.
“I know the Honolulu Police Department is doing its best, given the exacting enforcement parameters that must be met,” he said.
The resolution would recommend strengthening measures, from funding to increased fines and penalties, to mitigate illegal fireworks activity statewide, Say said.
In a 2011 report, the state Legislature’s Illegal Fireworks Task Force recommended increasing fees and fines, inspections and decriminalization in favor of civil penalties and education as some tools that could be used to address the illegal importation and use of fireworks.
A November 2019 follow-up report suggests that few if any of those recommendations were adopted by the state or counties.
Sayama told the Star-Advertiser he appreciates the tradition of popping fireworks to celebrate the new year and empathizes with the desire to keep it going. However, Hawaii residents must move forward with the festivities in a legal, safe and respectful fashion. Illegal aerials and IEDs cause property damage by showering homes and yards with debris, negatively affect veterans managing PTSD and force pets into a frenzy, he said.
Sayama said he is keen on common-sense practices but that in the 22 years since Hawaii banned aerials, little seems to have changed.
“I don’t think I’ve seen any decrease in these aerials or bombs going off on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day,” said Sayama. “It’s time to examine what’s working and what isn’t and develop a strategy on how to approach these issues.”
FIREWORKS VIOLATIONS
The Honolulu Police Department reported the following data for fireworks violations in recent years:
>> Nov. 28, 2020, to Jan. 4, 2021: 4 arrests, 123 warnings
>> Dec. 1, 2019, to Jan. 2, 2020: 3 arrests
>> Dec. 1, 2018, to Jan. 2, 2019: 3 arrests
>> Dec. 1, 2017, to Jan. 1, 2018: 5 arrests
Source: HPD
