Honolulu police working to address illegal fireworks problem

HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu police are cracking down on the use of illegal fireworks after the police department received a record number of fireworks-related calls leading up to 2016.

The Honolulu Police Department received 700 reports related to fireworks in November, 2,600 in December and 233 on New Year’s Day, totaling more than 3,500 calls, KHON-TV reported (http://bit.ly/1UuRZNP).

Police said they plan to get a head start this year on addressing the illegal fireworks problem. The police department is looking to work with other agencies beginning in the fall to determine how the fireworks are coming in and who is distributing them.

Officers were the busiest on New Year’s Eve, issuing citations in various areas on Oahu, including Ewa Beach, Pearl City and Kaneohe. The department increased the number of officers on duty by about 5 to 10 percent on Dec. 31.

“We did send out plainclothes officers to try and make buys, testing the vendors to see if they would sell to people without permits,” said Assistant Chief Alan Bluemke.

Their efforts led to the arrest of 41-year-old Cenon Polintan, of Waipahu, who was suspected of selling firecrackers without a permit on Dec. 31. Police said Polintan was tied to a separate case involving 2,200 pounds of illegal fireworks seized in Waipahu on Dec. 30.

Democratic Sen. Will Espero, who is also vice chair of the Senate public safety committee, is also looking to introduce a bill that will help tackle the illegal fireworks problem.

“I will be introducing legislation that will provide random inspections on the domestic containers coming from the West Coast and the mainland to Hawaii because currently those containers, and literally there are thousands and thousands, each year that are not inspected,” Espero said.

He said he plans to include in his legislation funds for buying dogs capable of sniffing out explosives.