NCJ Number
200127
Date Published
May 2002
Length
54 pages
Annotation
This document presents an analysis of Hawaii’s sex offender registry.
Abstract
The report offers a “first look” at aggregate data in the registry and links these data with other information readily available from criminal history records. The study was a descriptive analysis of Hawaii’s sex offender population (n=1,458) that was recorded in the State sex offender registry as of May 2001. Findings show that the average registered sex offender is most likely a male between 40 and 49 years of age, and of Caucasian, Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian or Filipino, race/ethnicity. He resides in the City and County of Honolulu, in the Kapalama, Waipahu, or Waianae areas. If he lives in another county, he most likely resides in one of the major population centers. His criminal record includes an average of between one and five felonies and about the same amount of misdemeanors. Aside from his sex offenses, which were nearly all violent, most felony convictions were for non-violent offenses. Misdemeanor convictions were likely to be for offenses such as contempt of court or traffic violations. He is most likely to carry a charge of either second or third degree sexual assault in terms of his sex offense history. The 1,458 registered sex offenders carried some 18,825 criminal charges on their combined criminal records, although 588 of these charges did not have enough information to be classified. Of the 6,170 sex offense cases analyzed, 84 percent had reached some sort of final disposition, while the remainder was still pending. Over 61 percent of the concluded cases were adjudicated guilty. Acquittals accounted for 25 percent and in another 13 percent of cases the prosecutors opted not to prosecute. Once convicted of a violent sex offense, the majority of offenders that were incarcerated were sentenced to 4 or more years of confinement. Another 45 percent were incarcerated for 1 year or less. Among convicted violent sex offenders receiving probation as part of their sentence, 87 percent received a 5 year term of probation. Victims were most likely to be Filipino, Caucasian, or Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian. 10 figures, 27 tables