Big Island Leads State in Quarantine Arrests

Hawai‘i Attorney General Clare Connors. Courtesy photo.

More people have been arrested on the Big Island for quarantine violations than in the rest of the state combined.

The state of Hawai‘i released the following county-by-county arrest tallies Friday:

• Hawai‘i County – 99
• Kaua‘i County – 46
• C&C of Honolulu – 21 (arrests made by Dept. of the Attorney General Special Investigators)
• Maui County – 16

So far,182 people have been arrested by state or county law enforcement officers for violating emergency quarantine rules. The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) reports its officers do respond to quarantine violations and officers have the discretion to warn, cite, or arrest based on available facts and circumstances. HPD groups all violations of current emergency rules together and does not provide specific statistics for quarantine violations.

AG’s investigators conduct random “compliance” checks on people who are in quarantine. Prior to the conclusion of an individual’s quarantine, AG Special Agents go into the field to see if people are complying, the state said in a press release. Those who aren’t abiding by the quarantine merit further investigation to ensure they start complying. If not, they can be arrested or cited.

The AG’s Investigative Division is responsible for a vast array of criminal, administrative, civil, and certain regulatory matters, including investigations of government corruption, white-collar crimes, career criminals, public safety, homeland security, sex offenders, computer crimes, etc.