Inmate search Hawaii: How To Find An Inmate In Hawaii

Inmates across the state of Hawaii are kept in custody at any of the four state prisons, four county jails, police department/city jails, and the federal detention center in Honolulu.

The processes involved in finding an inmate in any of these places may differ, but they revolve around searching online databases for the most part. 

While federal inmates can easily be found on the website run by the federal bureau of prisons, you may have to go through slightly different routes for others.

In this article, we explore all of these routes and recommend the most sure-fire ways to find an inmate in Hawaii. 

Records of Inmates in Hawaii 

Hawaii's inmate records are those documents that record information related to the interaction of inmates with the state's judicial system.

This interaction typically starts from their arrest to the investigation, prosecution, trial, sentencing, and incarceration. It is at the last stage that these inmate records are ultimately generated. 

They'll contain information that can be used to identify their subject(the inmate), their location, as well as other data relevant to their case.

In Hawaii, these records are primarily held in the possession of the Hawaii Department of Corrections. But because of the state's Hawaii Uniform Information Practices Act, the records will be available to the public. 

How To Find An Inmate In Hawaii's Prisons

In Hawaii, state inmates are housed in any of the four state prisons managed by the Hawaii Department of Corrections (HI DOC).

In place of an inmate locator portal, the HI DOC may publish an inmate roster or redirect you to other resources that you can use to find an inmate in the state.

Phone-related inquiries can be directed to the number 808-587-1288, while faxes can be sent to the department using the number 808-587-1282. 

But if you want to cut right to the chase, the eCrim Justice Data Center is a great place to try. It is a platform provided by the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center for use in running criminal history checks on people living in the state.

People with a history of arrests, criminal charges, and convictions secured against them have their information and profile in this database.

All you need to do is sign up properly at the site and carry out your search for a $5 fee. The cost rises to $10 for certified copies, with both cases requiring that requestors provide the names and birth dates of their subject. 

How To Find An Inmate In Hawaii's Jails

Jails are primarily intended to be used for the custody of two sets of persons—inmates serving short sentences and others on an awaiting trial list.

In Hawaii, these jails can be found in counties and their administration will fall under the range of the Sheriff and any other local law enforcement agencies.

If you plan to find an inmate in any of the county jails across Hawaii, you may have to schedule a visit to the sheriff's office.

This is mostly because the sheriff's office in these counties will not always have an online database of inmates in their custody. 

So if you know that your subject is housed in a county jail around Hawaii, you'll have to first determine the online availability of their inmate records.

And if you can not find an inmate search portal on the website of the sheriff's office in the affected county, you'd have to make a formal request at the office in person.

You could also put in a call or send a mail containing your request. If your inmate of interest is serving time in a Honolulu jail, the police department would be the best place to direct your inquiry either via the phone number (808) 529-3111 or a visit. 

The Hawaii VineLink

In Hawaii, the VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) service is provided through the Hawaii Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification (SAVIN) system.

The major function of this system is to provide crime victims and other concerned persons with round-the-clock notification and information regarding the custody of their offenders.

This service intends to provide them with email/text messages or/and phone calls whenever there is a significant update in matters related to offenders. 

The updates could range from a transfer or court appearance to a parole hearing or release. The Department of Public Safety in conjunction with the state's victim witness assistance programs is responsible for providing this service.

Users can ultimately use it to locate an inmate if they have identifying information that can link to the inmate in question when provided at the SAVIN search portal. 

How to Use Third-party Websites

If you resort to trying out Third-party websites in your bid to find an inmate in Hawaii, you'll be very much right on track.

This is because these websites are not limited by geographic range and as such can be accessed from anywhere.

And as they have a generous collection of public records, they'll provide the easiest route to accomplishing your goal. 

Most of these websites provide fields for you to input the name and residence (state/city/town) of the subject in question.

If the subject is an inmate, their inmate records should pop up in the stream of results from search entries that feature their name.