The Hawaii Police Department books adults at its stations first. People who are not released are then moved to HCCC in Hilo.

• Hawaii Community Correctional Center: 60 Punahele Street, Hilo, HI 96720. Call either 808-933-0431 or 808-933-0428. HCCC has 226 beds on two sites in Hilo.
• East Hawaii arrest information: 808-961-2213 (police headquarters, 349 Kapiolani Street, Hilo, HI 96720).
• West Hawaii arrest information: 808-326-4646, ext. 293 (Kona station, 74-611 Hale Makai Place, Kailua-Kona).

HRS 803-9 gives police 48 hours after an arrest to let the person go or file charges and bring them to a judge.

It happens. A Big Island resident arrested on Oahu or Maui is booked there first, and DCR can shift detainees between islands when beds run short. VINELink names the current spot. Contacts for the other three DCR jails:

• Oahu Community Correctional Center, Honolulu, 808-832-1777
• Maui Community Correctional Center, Wailuku, 808-243-5101
• Kauai Community Correctional Center, Lihue; call either 808-241-3050 or 808-241-3057

DCR does not post an HCCC roster of its own. Its public custody tool is the statewide VINE service.

1. Open VINELink Hawaii person search.
2. Fill in the surname and first name; adding the birth date, when known, trims the list.
3. Pick the right person. The page shows custody status, location and offender ID.
4. Choose "Register" for a free alert by text, email or call when that status changes.

No internet? Call 1-877-846-3444 (TTY 1-866-847-1298). Federal prisoners and people still at a police station are not in VINE.

Yes. DCR tells families they can download the free VINELink app to look people up and get alerts.

• Apple: VINELink in the App Store
• Android: VINELink in Google Play

HCCC's posted rules say staff do not give out inmate details or take messages by phone. Use VINELink, or the police arrest lines above for a brand-new arrest. If there is a family emergency, call 808-933-0431 and ask for the Watch Commander.

• For some minor charges, the police station may accept bail so the person goes home without going to HCCC.
• Everyone else sees a judge, often in Hilo or at the Keahuolu Courthouse in Kona. HRS 804-9 says bail must be reasonable for the charge and the person's money situation.
• The Intake Service Center, in Hilo (808-933-8830) or Kona (808-323-4565), checks the detainee's ties and record and sends a bail report to the judge.
• A judge can refuse bail in some very serious cases under HRS 804-3.
• A bondsman keeps the fee it charges. Cash put up in full at the courthouse comes back to whoever paid it after the final ruling, provided the defendant showed up each time.

A 2026 bill on ability-to-pay findings (HB 1516) failed its final Senate vote on May 1, 2026, so these steps are current. See our Hawaii County bail page.

There is no public online warrant list in Hawaii. Ways to check:

• Call the Hawaii Section of the state Sheriff Division at 808-933-8833.
• Call the Hawaii Police Department non-emergency line at 808-935-3311.
• Look for a bench warrant entry in the case on eCourt Kokua.

Talking to a lawyer before turning yourself in can make the process faster and safer.

• Third Circuit Court, Hilo (felonies and District Court cases for East Hawaii): Hale Kaulike, 777 Kilauea Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, 808-961-7440.
• Keahuolu Courthouse (West Hawaii): 74-5451 Kamakaeha Avenue, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740, 808-322-8700.
• South Kohala District Court: Waimea Civic Center, 67-5187 Kamamalu Street, Kamuela, HI 96743, 808-443-2030.

The District Court takes misdemeanors, traffic crimes and first appearances on felonies. Felonies are tried in Circuit Court. Track cases on eCourt Kokua.

Yes. The state Office of the Public Defender has two Hawaii County offices:

• Hilo: 275 Ponahawai Street, Suite 201, Hilo, HI 96720, 808-974-4571.
• Kona: 81-948 Waenaoihana Loop, Suite 110, Kealakekua, HI 96750, 808-322-1945.

Whether someone qualifies is settled by the judge at arraignment.

HCCC sets visit slots by housing unit, mostly on weekends and state holidays, and a slot can be called off on short notice. Call the visit line at 808-933-0522 before you drive in. You need to be on the approved list and show photo ID. Read our HCCC visit guide and our page on video visits from home.

Inmates call out from an approved list they fill out when booked. Calls can go to landlines and cell phones, inter-island, mainland or overseas, and are recorded unless placed to an attorney, the state Ombudsman, or the ACLU. No three-way calls. Families cannot phone in to an inmate.

Set up service with help from our pages on HCCC phone accounts, messages and texts and tablets.

HCCC takes a cashier's check or bank check made out to "HCCC/" plus the inmate's name, with the sender's name and address on it. Online deposits through the state's inmate phone provider are also offered. The account pays for store items and fees.

Learn more on our HCCC deposit page and store page.

Mail goes to the jail in Hilo. Address it this way:

Inmate first and last name, ID number
c/o Hawaii Community Correctional Center
60 Punahele Street
Hilo, HI 96720

• Your full name and return address must be on the envelope.
• Stickers, glitter, glue, stamps of ink, kiss marks and drawings get mail returned.
• Books, magazines and food are not allowed.
• Only mail from the inmate's attorney counts as legal mail.

See our HCCC mail page.

A child under 18 goes to Family Court, which is part of the Third Circuit in Hilo (808-961-7440) and Kona (808-322-8700). Youth are never placed at HCCC. Parents can call the police arrest lines above to find out where the child was taken and when the Family Court hearing is.

Call 808-933-0431, ask for the Watch Commander, and explain the medical need along with the person's name and ID. The DCR Health Care Division is at 808-587-1250. For property taken at booking, ask the jail how to arrange a pickup.

All federal cases in the state go to Hawaii's U.S. District Court in Honolulu, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room C-338, Honolulu, HI 96850, 808-541-1300.

1. The person is flown to Oahu by the U.S. Marshals for a first hearing.
2. A detention hearing decides release on conditions or custody until trial.
3. Federal pretrial detainees are kept at FDC Honolulu, 351 Elliott Street, Honolulu, HI 96819, 808-838-4200.
4. Use the BOP Inmate Locator to find them, both before trial and after a sentence sends them to a federal prison.

1. ICE sends Form I-247A to the jail when it thinks a person in custody may be removable.
2. The form asks the jail to hold the person for up to 48 more hours after release would happen, counted around the clock, weekends and holidays included.
3. No Hawaii statute directs jails on these holds, so federal rule 8 CFR 287.7 governs.
4. Officers from the ICE Honolulu office, 595 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96813, 808-532-2742, take custody.
5. Detainees are usually flown to FDC Honolulu, and some are later moved to the mainland.
6. Check the ICE Detainee Locator by alien number, or by name with birth nation.

Terms longer than one year mean a move to state prison. The person is first classified at intake by DCR and then sent to the prison that matches their security level and programs. Some men are housed in a contract prison on the mainland. VINELink keeps showing the current location, and our Hawaii state prisons page covers each facility.

No. Neither VINELink nor any Hawaii Police Department page posts booking photos. Hawaii law still treats mugshots as public:

• The Office of Information Practices said in Opinion 94-12, a 1994 ruling on a Hawaii County Police request, that booking photos fall under HRS Chapter 92F as public records. A follow-up, Opinion 03-09, kept that rule.
• Media and the public can request a mugshot from the Hawaii Police Department.
• Once an arrest is a year old with no outcome, its mugshot is restricted unless prosecution is active or there was a conviction (HRS Chapter 846). Expunged arrests are sealed (HRS 831-3.2).
• ICE photos: request through ICE FOIA.
• Federal mugshots are not released, except the U.S. Marshals Service may put one out to help catch a fugitive.

The Hawaii Police Department covers the whole island, home to 210,043 people on July 1, 2025 (DBEDT county estimate, released March 27, 2026). Non-emergency: 808-935-3311.

• Hilo (headquarters): 349 Kapiolani Street, 808-935-3311
• Kona (Kailua-Kona): 808-326-4646
• Puna (Keaau and Pahoa): 808-965-2716
• Kau (Naalehu): 808-939-2520
• Hamakua (Honokaa): 808-775-7533
• South Kohala (Waimea): 808-887-3080
• North Kohala (Kapaau): 808-889-6540