The Hawaii County Most Wanted Program
Hawaii County has no sheriff's office keeping a public warrant roster. HPD is the county's main law-enforcement agency, and its website carries selected wanted notices, active-threat messages, news releases, and warrant-sweep summaries. Hawaii Island Crime Stoppers adds a separate anonymous tip channel. Helpful as these are, they fall short of a complete Hawaii County most wanted database. A handful of notices can never show every person with a court warrant. For anything current, use the official HPD website for agency notices and the court path for a case record. What HPD posts is a selection, chosen for public safety, not a countywide warrant list. Treat it as a window into active investigations rather than a way to count outstanding warrants.
Hawaii County Wanted Notices Are Curated
Each Hawaii County wanted notice is an operational message HPD chooses to highlight. It might involve a priority investigation, a person police are seeking, or another public-safety matter. Selection follows agency needs. Neither every Third Circuit warrant nor a fixed update schedule appears in these notices.
Key point: Follow the official HPD link for a current notice; no names, photos, mugshots, or roster entries are copied into this civic reference.
That curation protects accuracy and context. An old article can stay indexed long after circumstances change. A notice may hold only approved facts, while the court docket holds a different public record. Read the source date, and return to HPD for updates on any Hawaii County matter.
How the Lists Work
HPD decides which operational notices go public. Crime Stoppers may spotlight cases where tips could help. A sweep release reports an operation after it ends. None of these replaces the agency-only warrant system or the issuing court's signed order in Hawaii County.
Note: A published notice is a dated snapshot; absence from HPD or Crime Stoppers does not prove that no Hawaii County warrant exists.
A notice can change after an arrest, a surrender, a recall, a new court order, or an investigative update. Hawaii County agencies publish no fixed posting or removal schedule. Check the live official page rather than a saved copy or search preview. For your own status, locate the case and ask the issuing court or counsel.
Hawaii County Crime Stoppers Channel
The Hawaii Island Crime Stoppers program takes anonymous information about crimes and wanted persons. Callers never give their names. Calls carry no caller ID and no recording, and each caller gets a code number. The Crime Stoppers board decides whether a Hawaii County tip earns a reward.
- Tip line
- 808-961-8300, the island-wide Crime Stoppers number listed by the County and HPD.
- Code number
- The reference used for anonymous follow-up instead of the caller's name.
- Reward
- A possible payment decided through the Crime Stoppers process, not a promise for every tip.
- Record request
- A different process used to seek an existing disclosable agency record.
Crime Stoppers is not a warrant search or legal advice. Use it to pass along safety information in Hawaii County. For a docket or warrant document, use the Third Circuit court.
How to Report a Tip Safely
Call 911 for an immediate threat. For non-emergency tips tied to an HPD notice, use Crime Stoppers or HPD's published non-emergency channel in Hawaii County. Share facts that help officers, and never confront, follow, or detain anyone yourself.
- Open the current official HPD or Crime Stoppers source and check its date.
- For an emergency, call 911. Otherwise call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.
- Describe the place, time, direction, vehicle, or other observed fact without guessing.
- Keep the code number provided for anonymous follow-up and any reward inquiry.
- Step away and let trained law-enforcement personnel respond.
Key Point: Send the tip and step back; never approach, chase, restrain, or announce that a person may be wanted.
HPD's non-emergency line is 808-935-3311. Crime Stoppers suits anonymous Hawaii County tips, while direct HPD contact handles other non-emergency police service.
Hawaii County Warrant Sweep Context
Official sweep releases show how local agencies act, though they offer no live roster. In January 2025, HPD reported 12 arrests on 17 outstanding warrants by Puna Community Police and Puna Patrol. Charges included contempt, failure to appear, and conditions of release. The official Puna sweep summary is a dated Hawaii County account, not today's count.
A July 2024 East Hawaiʻi operation brought HPD together with the U.S. Marshals Hawaii Fugitive Task Force and DOCARE. It shows partner agencies can assist with service. Neither release is a person list, and neither gives a current Hawaii County total.
Most Wanted vs an Active Warrant
The terms overlap, but they differ. Most wanted is a publication choice. A warrant is a judicial order whose status rests with the court and authorized agency systems in Hawaii County.
| Question | Most-Wanted Notice | Active Warrant |
|---|---|---|
| Who creates it? | HPD or Crime Stoppers selects a public notice. | A judge issues the warrant in a case. |
| Is it complete? | No, it is a curated subset. | Agency systems may be broader, but public access is limited. |
| Where is it checked? | Current official agency page. | Issuing court, eCourt docket, or authorized agency. |
| What ends it? | Agency update or removal. | Service, recall, quash, or another controlling court action. |
| Can absence prove clearance? | No. | No public page guarantees current statewide status. |
A public case label can mislead, too. ACTIVE means the case is ongoing, not that an arrest warrant is active. Read the docket and signed orders in Hawaii County.
Check Hawaii County Warrant Court Records
Start at the Judiciary's Search Court Records page to check your own status. eCourt Kōkua supports party, case, vehicle, and hearing searches. A case ID or citation number beats a name-only match. Hawaii County cases in the Third Circuit begin with circuit digit 3, though older migrated numbers may differ.
- Search the exact case or citation identifier when available.
- Confirm the court, case type, filing year, and party information.
- Read docket events for warrant, service, recall, quash, and hearing activity.
- Open available public orders and note their dates.
- Contact the correct Hilo, Kona, or Waimea court office for current instructions.
eBench Warrant serves approved agencies only, not the public. A missing eCourt entry or wanted notice does not settle current warrant status in Hawaii County.
Hawaii County Warrant Scam Check
Scammers have posed as Hawaii County police on the phone. The caller spoofs caller ID, claims you missed court, and says a warrant is out. Then come the demands: gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a kiosk payment. No real Hawaii County court order gets settled that way.
Warning: End an unsolicited payment call and verify the claim through a published HPD number and the appropriate Third Circuit court office.
Hang up and use the County police page or the Judiciary directory. Call a number you looked up yourself. A real warrant means an appearance, a bail review, or a signed recall order from the court. Secret money transfers stop nothing.
If You Believe You Are on a List
If you think an active Hawaii County warrant carries your name, verify it the right way. Keep the official source URL and its date. Find the issuing court. A licensed attorney can plan your appearance, bail, or voluntary surrender around the actual order.
Important: Contact counsel and the issuing court before surrendering or traveling; a current warrant may lead to arrest during law-enforcement contact.
Your attorney can file a motion to recall a bench warrant or a motion to quash it, which asks the court to set the order aside. Filing alone does not do that. The signed order and the clerk's confirmation are what count. Bail terms vary case by case, and probation or conditional-release matters can carry their own conditions. Hawaii County runs no amnesty event, warrant-clearing holiday, or no-arrest walk-in program. Helping a family member? Share the official court and attorney contacts instead of personal data. Do not copy a wanted notice onto social media or build a private list, because the live HPD source is the authorized public record.