NCJ Number
242614
Date Published
2010
Length
104 pages
Annotation
This report examines the impact of the criminal justice system on Native Hawaiians
Abstract
Key findings show that since 1977, the number of people incarcerated in Hawai'i has increased more than 900 percent, from 398 people in prison in that year to 4,304 people sentenced to 1 year or more in prison in 2008; the disproportionate impact of the criminal justice system on Native Hawaiians accumulates at each stage; given a determination of guilt, Native Hawaiians are more likely to get a prison sentence than all other groups; Native Hawaiians receive longer prison sentences than most other racial or ethnic groups; Native Hawaiians are sentenced to longer probation terms than most other racial or ethnic groups; Native Hawaiians make up the highest percentage of people incarcerated in out-of-state facilities; Hawaii has the largest proportion of its population of women in prison, with Native Hawaiian women comprising a disproportionate number of women in the prison; parole revocations contribute to the number of Native Hawaiians in prison in Hawaii; Native Hawaiians bear a disproportionate burden of punitive responses to drug use; and Native Hawaiians do not use drugs at drastically different rates from other races or ethnicities, but go to prison for drug offenses more often than people of other races or ethnicities; and Native Hawaiians are charged with the majority of offenses related to methamphetamine, but report using this drug at only slightly higher rates than people of other races or ethnicities.