Apparent dump site raises questions over HPD’s stolen bike database

MOILIILI, Hawaii (KHON2) — A lawmaker is hoping to raise awareness about a dedicated database for stolen bicycles after KHON2 sent her footage of an apparent dump site in Honolulu.

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Rep. Lisa Marten passed a law in 2022 that requires Honolulu police to maintain an online stolen bicycle database to help reunite owners with their transportation, but she said there is an obvious problem after viewing a video of an apparent dump site underneath a bridge in town.

“That’s pretty shocking,” Rep. Marten said. “The problem with this database is nobody knows about it, so it’s not being used and if it doesn’t get used, it won’t work.”

“That database could be used for that too, just to reunite those bikes with their owners.”

Rep. Lisa Marten (D) Waimanalo, Kailua

The Hawaii Bicycling League said the site has all the indicators of a chop shop with the amount of bicycle parts strewn around.

“We’ve seen this with mopeds, we’ve seen this with bikes,” HBL executive director Travis Counsell said. “Stolen off bike racks and then brought to a place like this and mix and matched and made them, you know, spray painted and looked different than when they were stolen.”

“I don’t want to put it on any group of individuals,” Counsell said. “Always like to give the benefit of the doubt, but it does seem like a lot of thefts end up going to homeless camps or something of that sort.”

Honolulu police did not respond to requests about the number of bike thefts so far in 2024 — latest statistics from 2021 showed 817 reports. KHON2 is also waiting to hear back about whether officers sweep under bridges for stolen bikes and how operation of the database is going.

“It actually just becomes a waste of our taxpayer dollars because somebody at HPD is maintaining this database,” Rep. Marten said.

Rep. Marten and the HBL still encouraged the public to use the site if they experience theft.

“So go ahead and report it stolen with the serial number, it will go onto this database and if somebody finds it stashed in somewhere like under that bridge, they will then have a way to get it back to you,” Rep. Marten said.

“The law currently requires resellers such as pawnshops or even bike shops if they’re buying to check that database before selling it,” Counsell said, “and it’s also a useful tool for the public, too. If you’re buying a bike off of Facebook or Craigslist or something, just run that VIN number, run that registration number through there.”

Nearby residents told KHON2 that the apparent dump site has been a trouble spot for years and the McCully-Moiliili Neighborhood Board chair said he will raise the issue to HPD during their next meeting.