Question: Is it true that homeowners get charged for false alarms?
Answer: Yes, if their home’s burglar alarm malfunctions more than three times a year, according to the Honolulu Police Department.
Ninety-eight percent of the burglar alarms HPD responds to turn out to be false alarms, diverting police resources from important matters, according to the department’s website. HPD wants homeowners and businesses to do all they can to reduce such wasteful mistakes. That includes calling your alarm company (rather than 911) if you accidentally set off your burglar alarm, remembering your pass code and training all key holders in how to use and disarm the system.
Per Chapter 41, Article 42, of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, residential, commercial and governmental alarms must be registered with HPD before being installed and activated. Fire, automobile and medical alarms are excluded from this requirement.
The initial registration fee is $15, followed by a $5 renewal fee each year thereafter.
If HPD responds to an unregistered or expired alarm, the initial fine is $100, then $300 for each subsequent infraction. For homes and businesses whose alarms are registered, there is no fee for the first three false alarms within 12 months from the registration or renewal date. After three, though, the cost is $50 per false alarm.
If the alarm malfunctions repeatedly within 72 hours, the home or business owner may be able to count those false alarms as a single incident, as long as they can prove the problem was corrected and it does not recur for 30 days. Alarm owners with repeated problems also may be able to avoid some fees by taking a two-hour class that explains how to avoid common problems.
For more information, see 808ne.ws/alarmrule.
More shredding
There’s another free community shredding event scheduled for Saturday, the third we know of on Oahu set for that day. This one’s scheduled from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Kapolei High School, 91-5007 Kapolei Parkway, as part of a larger “Going Green” recycling event that also accepts e-waste and other recyclables. The shredding service will be provided by Pro-File Record Systems and is limited to two bankers boxes per household, according to a news release from Rene Mansho, who organizes the “Growing Green” events. For more information, email her at renemansho@hawaii.rr.com. Two other Oahu shredding events scheduled for that day are in Aiea and Waianae, as previously reported in Kokua Line. Read about them at 808ne.ws/april6kline and 808ne.ws/april10kline, respectively.
Q: What happened to Taizo Braden from KHON’s “Wake Up 2day” morning show? I have not seen him lately on the station’s “Living808” segments, either. I’d like to know whether he left the station and why.
A: KHON did not renew Braden’s contract, Show Biz columnist Wayne Harada reported last month (808ne.ws/326showbiz). Braden found out he was being let go while he was on vacation, and planned to seek a new gig when he returned from Japan, Harada said. Kokua Line called and emailed Braden to ask what he’s up to now but hasn’t heard back from him. We also emailed KHON but got no response.
Auwe
I would have given a large reward to the person who found my iPod at Niu Valley Shopping Center on Friday just before noon. However he/she has only tried to open it twice (it’s locked in lost mode), and it appears it won’t be returned to me. What a shame. The finder can’t use it, and I can no longer listen to library books. We both lose. — A sad senior
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
