As a private investigator with years of experience in the field, I am often asked about the intricacies of conducting a thorough search for arrest records in Hawaii. In this guide, I will break down the process by county and provide the necessary information for anyone looking to obtain accurate and up-to-date arrest records. This guide will cover the following counties:
Honolulu County
Honolulu County Overview
Honolulu County, the most populous of Hawaii’s counties, is home to the state’s capital, Honolulu. With its vibrant urban landscape and bustling tourist industry, it is essential to be aware of the resources available for accessing arrest records in this county.
Accessing Arrest Records in Honolulu County
- Honolulu Police Department (HPD): The HPD is responsible for maintaining arrest records within the jurisdiction of Honolulu County. To request arrest records, contact the HPD’s Records and Identification Division by phone at (808) 723-3257 or visit their website at hpdonlinereporting.honolulupd.org.
- State of Hawaii Judiciary: Hawaii’s statewide Judiciary offers an online service called ‘Hawaii State Judiciary’s Public Access to Court Records (Ho’ohiki). This system allows users to search for criminal case information, including arrest records.
Hawaii County
Hawaii County Overview
Hawaii County, the largest and southernmost county in the state, encompasses the entire Island of Hawaii. As a private investigator, understanding the arrest record retrieval process in Hawaii County is crucial for accurate information gathering.
Accessing Arrest Records in Hawaii County
- Hawaii Police Department: The Hawaii Police Department maintains arrest records within Hawaii County. To request arrest records, contact the Hawaii Police Department Records Section by phone at (808) 961-2233 or visit their website at www.hawaiipolice.com.
- Hawaii State Judiciary: The Hawaii State Judiciary’s Ho’ohiki system is an excellent resource for accessing criminal case information, including arrest records.
Maui County
Maui County Overview
Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Kahoolawe, is another essential region to consider when searching for arrest records in Hawaii.
Accessing Arrest Records in Maui County
- Maui Police Department: The Maui Police Department oversees arrest records in Maui County. To obtain arrest records, contact the Records Section by phone at (808) 244-6355 or visit their website at www.mauipolice.com.
- Hawaii State Judiciary: Utilize the Ho’ohiki system to search for criminal case information, including arrest records, in Maui County.
Kauai County
Kauai County Overview
Kauai County, the smallest of Hawaii’s counties in terms of population, comprises the islands of Kauai and Niihau. Obtaining arrest records in Kauai County is essential for a thorough investigation.
Accessing Arrest Records in Kauai County
- Kauai Police Department: The Kauai Police Department is responsible for maintaining arrest records within Kauai County. To request arrest records, contact the Kauai Police Department’s Records Section by phone at (808) 241-1965 or visit their website at www.kauai.gov/police.
- Hawaii State Judiciary: As with the other counties, the Ho’ohiki system can be utilized to search for criminal case information, including arrest records, in Kauai County.
Key Points to Remember When Searching for Hawaii Arrest Records by County
- Contact the appropriate Police Department in each county for accurate and up-to-date arrest records.
- Utilize the Hawaii State Judiciary’s Ho’ohiki system to access criminal case information across all counties.
- When requesting arrest records, be prepared to provide the necessary information, such as full name, date of birth, and case number (if available).
Obtaining accurate and up-to-date arrest records in Hawaii is essential to any investigation. By understanding the process for each county and utilizing the resources available, you can ensure that you have the most comprehensive and reliable information at your disposal.
Always be cautious, thorough, and professional when conducting arrest record searches. With the appropriate resources and the necessary knowledge, you can successfully navigate Hawaii’s arrest records landscape and provide the best service possible.
What are arrest records and arrest warrants?
The Hawaii Criminal Justice Datacenter maintains and disseminates details about active warrants, criminal arrests, convictions, and offender identification records. When used in connection with public inquiries for crime data, the term arrest records refers to information on all cases that ended in a guilty verdict, regardless of when they occurred.
Delving deeper into the kind of information that applicants stand to receive from crime history checks reveals that a background report will typically contain details on the issue of arrest warrants, detentions, case history, and disposition, sentencing, and correctional data, including parole date. Apart from this, the applicant will also be given access to certain personal identifiers information such as the name of the subject and all known aliases, gender, date of birth, photograph, and some contact details.
When state licensing boards request crime history records, justice agencies from Hawaii and other states, federal law enforcement, or employers who are allowed by statute to access complete criminal history, the information disclosed will be more extensive. It will also include non-conviction data apart from what is being offered to regular applicants.
Non-conviction detail is a term used to indicate sealed, expunged, and erased records, juvenile crime information, and arrests in matters that are under trial or from cases that culminated in a dismissal acquittal, including arrest records from such matters that are less than one year old. This information category will also include details on all HI outstanding warrants that are yet to be executed.
The Criminal Justice Date Center allows applicants to look for information online and launch warrant searches that are name or fingerprint-based. It is also possible to approach the local sheriff’s office or the county clerk to avail conviction data. The public service terminals at the offices of many justice agencies are linked to the eCrim repository maintained by the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center.
Arrest warrants from Hawaii
According to HRS 805-1 (Hawaii Revised Statutes), a complaint needs to be filed for the court to consider the issue of an arrest warrant in the state. This petition and a sworn statement explaining the case facts and evidence can come from a law enforcement office or the prosecution. In either case, the statement’s substance must clearly define the criminal act and the reasons for assuming that the occurrence was of a criminal nature and that the suspect was involved in its commissioning.
The magistrate is the authority who will ascertain that there is clear probable cause to suspect the person in question. Once this is established, the detention order is released, directed at law enforcement officers from the state. HI, outstanding warrants stay in effect in all parts of the state, not just the issuing county. Furthermore, among the many additional powers granted to cops giving chase to an accused with an arrest warrant to his name is the ability to pursue the said offender outside the state lines. Also, peace officers can enlist other law enforcement agencies, personnel, and civilians to serve these decrees.
How do I search for Hawaii arrest records and warrants?
The Hawaii State Judiciary offers the provisions to look for court dockets online. You can find information from almost all the tribunals in the state’s judicial hierarchy. So, you are likely to get information on criminal matters, including the issue of arrest warrants, case dispositions, and civil litigations through this source.
To find information on criminal matters heard by the district and appellate courts and access traffic violation records, you can visit the eCourt Kokua website. Although not linked to the Hawaii judiciary, you will find up-to-date information from this web portal. Applicants can find court dockets by the defendant’s name, the case number, the citation number, or the vehicle license plate. The records are free to view, but you will have to pay to take printouts.
Information from the circuit and family tribunals in the state can be found by logging on to the eCourt* Kokua website. Read the disclaimer and enter the site. A popup window will give you the option to search for records by using the case number, id, or the name of the litigants. This website is an undertaking of the state judiciary. For more information on accessing court dockets, you can contact the office of the state judicial administrator at:
Administrative Offices of the Courts
- Ali’iolani Hale, 417 South King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Hawaii crime statistics
Go here if you’re interested in checking out DUI statistics for Hawaii in 2022.
Over the decade that ended in 2008, nearly 630,000 criminal complaints were handled by the various law enforcement agencies across Hawaii. Of the complaints filed, most were against property-related infractions, including theft, which alone garnered an annual incident average of almost 415,000 cases.
Violent crimes had a comparatively lower rate of just about 5% of the annual total. Of these crimes, assaults had the highest frequency of nearly 18,000 incidents. Although this may seem paltry when pitched against the yearly rate of thefts and burglaries, compared to the average of homicide, which stands at a mere 300 cases, the figure seems quite worrisome.