Hawaii County Comprehensive Strategy for Juvenile Justice

Home

Hawaii County Juvenile Statistics From 1995 to 1999 the County of Hawaii has experienced a general decrease in juvenile delinquency statistics which is contrary to trends found across the United States (US). This is a noteworthy achievement given the large geographical size and relatively limited budget of the County. The Following is a synopsis of juvenile crime and juvenile justice trends in Hawaii, which outline the current situation facing Hawaii's juvenile facilities. • The juvenile population (0-17) in Hawai'i County decreased two percent between 1995 and 1999. This decrease was in direct contrast to the rate of increase in the juvenile population on the national level over that time (3%) and lower than the State's decrease (5%). • During the same time period, overall juvenile arrests in Hawai'i County decreased substantially, by 31%. This reflected a 30% decrease in both Part I violent and property offenses. Additionally, there was a decrease (31%) in the number of arrests for Part 11 offenses, with notable exceptions being the increase in number of arrests for DUI (89%) and sex offenses (43%). Of notable interest was the marked decrease of narcotics related offense arrests, from 316 in 1995 to 147 in 1999 (53% decrease). • The State of Hawai'i experienced as significant a decrease in juvenile arrests between 1995 and 1999. Total arrests decreased 28%, with Part I violent crimes decreasing 31%. In particular, there were only 2 murders in 1999, compared to 18 in 1995. Part II offense arrests saw a decrease in almost all categories, except gambling (113% increase), prostitution (167% increase), and DUI (224% increase). • In total,juvenile arrests accounted for 21% of the total arrests in Hawai'i in 1999. That was a 28% decrease from 1995. The decrease was even more remarkable in Hawai'i County. Juvenile arrests accounted for 31% of all arrests in Hawai'i County in 1995. That percentage was reduced to only 18% of total arrests in 1999. Of particular note is that overall arrests in Hawai'i County increased 19% between 1995 and 1999, while the number of juvenile arrests decreased by 31% in that same time period. • Admissions to Hale Hoomalu, the State's only juvenile detention center, increased between 1996 and 1998 (5%). The growth in female admissions was greater than for males (seven% versus 4%), but males made up the majority of all admissions (approximately 65% each year). • The type of offenses for which youth were admitted changed between 1996 and 1999. Status offense admissions saw a decrease (43%) during the time period, while law violations increased by 10%, with a peak of 633 admissions in 1997 (data for 1998 is unavailable). • The summary information of ethnicity of Hale Hoomalu admissions shows Part Hawaiian youth as the majority (36%), followed by Caucasian youth(15%), and Filipino youth(8%). The "Other" category accounts for 32%, but includes 17 ethnic categories. Caucasian youth reported the largest increase in admissions between 1996 and 1998 (26%), followed by a 10% increase for Part Hawaiian youth. The number of Hawaiian youth admissions decreased between 1996 and 1998 (8%). 8