Hawaii has no county-run jails. The Oahu Community Correctional Center, at:
2199 Kamehameha Highway
Honolulu, HI 96819
is operated by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and holds adults from Honolulu County who are awaiting trial or serving shorter sentences, on both felony and misdemeanor charges.
The first stop after an arrest is usually a county police cellblock, not this facility. Officers from the county police department photograph and fingerprint the arrestee, run warrant checks and hold them until they are released, posted bail, or appeared in court. People who stay in custody after that are transferred to the Oahu Community Correctional Center, where staff complete a separate intake with a property inventory and a medical screening before assigning housing.
Deputies with the state Department of Law Enforcement, which took over the former sheriff division in 2024, also make arrests that can lead here. Federal prisoners and immigration detainees in Hawaii are generally held at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu, though the U.S. Marshals and ICE may have contact with people in state custody.
Under Hawaii law, a person arrested without a warrant must be charged and brought before a judge, or released, within 48 hours. Commercial bail bond agents work in Hawaii and are licensed through the state Insurance Division. Judges can also release people on their own recognizance or with supervision, and the state’s pretrial services staff screen new detainees to help the court decide. Our Bail page covers the steps for posting bail.
Hawaii has no statewide law restricting cooperation with immigration authorities, and local agencies have reported that they comply with ICE detainers. Proposals to require a judicial warrant before honoring a detainer have been introduced in the Legislature but had not become law as of 2026.
Custody information for the Oahu Community Correctional Center can be found through the state’s official inmate search (opens in a new tab). To fill in missing details, call the facility at 808-832-1777.
Intake at the Oahu Community Correctional Center can be done in a couple of hours or take most of the day, depending on how many people are transferred in from the cellblocks and courts.
If the arrest was very recent, the person is probably still at the county police cellblock, so the police department is the place to ask first.
Once they have been moved to the state facility, call the Oahu Community Correctional Center at 808-832-1777. Staff will usually want a full name and date of birth before confirming anything.
Transfers from police custody often happen after a court appearance, so it may be a day or two before someone appears at the facility.
The Oahu Community Correctional Center Booking Roster can also be searched online.
In Honolulu County, someone taken into custody and advised of their rights is brought to the county police department’s cellblock for the initial booking. Those who are not released are later transported to the state-run Oahu Community Correctional Center.
Each stage involves paperwork and questions. Attorneys commonly recommend saying nothing about the alleged crime, since statements made in custody can be recorded and introduced at trial.
The arrestee is photographed and fingerprinted and answers questions about their background and mental health. Warrant checks cover Honolulu County, the rest of Hawaii and other states. A DNA sample may be collected in serious felony cases.
Drivers arrested for OVUII (Hawaii’s term for DUI) who refuse testing face license revocation, and a blood draw generally requires consent or a warrant.
New arrivals at the facility can expect a thorough search, which may include a strip search, before entering general housing.
Intake staff ask about medical conditions, medications, drug and alcohol use, allergies, suicidal feelings, tattoos, gang involvement and any people they need to be kept away from. This shapes their classification, housing and medical care.
Belongings are listed on a property receipt and kept in storage until release. An inmate may authorize a family member or friend to pick up certain items.
Stored property can include clothing, money, wallets, bags, phones, jewelry, piercings and watches. Shoelaces, belts and anything that could be used as a weapon are taken.
The person is given a chance to call someone to let them know where they are or to start arranging bail.
Those held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center are issued facility clothing and footwear, bedding, a towel and basic hygiene items such as soap and a toothbrush.
A shower and screening for lice or other pests may be required before they are taken to their housing unit.
Counting the police cellblock and the facility intake, the process can take from a few hours to more than a day, depending on court schedules, transport times and how many people are being processed.
Someone who arrives intoxicated or agitated may wait in a holding cell until they can be processed safely.