Hawaii
Hawaii earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws:
Standard of Proof
Low bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must prove by preponderance of the evidence that property is connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement (up to a maximum of $3 million per year, 25% to police, 25% to prosecutors and 50% to the attorney general for law enforcement projects).
The letter grade reflects the state’s forfeiture laws as of December 2020. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Recent Reforms
- None.
Recommendations
- End civil forfeiture
- Direct all forfeiture proceeds to a non-law enforcement fund
- Strengthen protections for innocent third-party owners
- Close the equitable sharing loophole
- Strengthen transparency and accountability requirements
State and Federal Forfeiture Revenues, 2000-2019
Between 2001 and 2018, Hawaii law enforcement agencies forfeited more than $20 million under state law. Between 2000 and 2019, they generated an additional $29 million from federal equitable sharing, for a total of at least $49 million in forfeiture revenue. Hawaii ranks 26th for its participation in the Department of Justice’s equitable sharing program. The state does not prevent state and local agencies from using equitable sharing to circumvent state forfeiture law.
At least $49 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
2000–2019
| Year | Hawaii Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $1,207,271 | $0 | $1,207,271 | |
| 2001 | $1,194,028 | $607,098 | $40,000 | $1,841,126 | |
| 2002 | $1,615,045 | $2,052,050 | $75,000 | $3,742,095 | |
| 2003 | $949,877 | $2,038,594 | $5000 | $2,993,471 | |
| 2004 | $1,657,156 | $1,802,294 | $4,000 | $3,463,450 | |
| 2005 | $1,062,252 | $1,657,680 | $188,000 | $2,907,932 | |
| 2006 | $1,493,599 | $3,345,770 | $496,000 | $5,335,369 | |
| 2007 | $1,405,284 | $2,808,610 | $184,000 | $4,397,894 | |
| 2008 | $1,473,667 | $1,626,211 | $67,000 | $3,166,878 | |
| 2009 | $1,405,284 | $1,032,842 | $22,000 | $2,460,126 | |
| 2010 | $1,797,875 | $635,942 | $798,000 | $3,231,817 | |
| 2011 | $661,619 | $515,903 | $237,000 | $1,414,522 | |
| 2012 | $535,811 | $590,432 | $12,000 | $1,138,243 | |
| 2013 | $868,376 | $870,766 | $92,000 | $1,831,142 | |
| 2014 | $807,366 | $1,086,796 | $37,000 | $1,931,162 | |
| 2015 | $1,420,388 | $1,714,754 | $24,000 | $3,159,142 | |
| 2016 | $700,863 | $505,825 | $174,000 | $1,380,688 | |
| 2017 | $470,561 | $1,957,524 | $130,000 | $2,558,085 | |
| 2018 | $639,641 | $203,629 | $30,000 | $873,270 | |
| 2019 | Unavailable | $60,507 | $58,000 | $118,507 | |
| Totals | $20,158,692 | $26,320,498 | $2,673,000 | $49,152,190 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Hawaii's Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
C
Accounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
F
Statewide Forfeiture Reports
B
Accessibility of Forfeiture Records
B
Penalties for Failure to File a Report
F
Financial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
F
For full transparency and accountability grades, visit www.ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Forfeitures Under Hawaii Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWNHawaii does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWNHawaii property type data were not used for this report.
Civil vs. Criminal
Hawaii does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Expenditures
From 2001 to 2018, the Hawaii Attorney General spent $6 million from forfeiture funds—56% on personnel, including salaries and overtime.
Data Notes and Legal Sources
Data Notes
Figures are from annual reports obtained from the Hawaii AG’s website and represent fiscal-year forfeiture proceeds. Expenditures represent only the AG’s Criminal Forfeiture Fund, which receives half of all proceeds. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, state figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Preponderance of the evidence.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 712A-12(8).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 712A-12(8).
Financial incentive: 100% (25% to police, 25% to prosecuting attorney, 50% to attorney general for various law enforcement projects) up to a maximum of $3 million per year.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 712A-16(2)–(4).
