Forfeiture

Removing the assets and profit of crime.

In 1988, a law enforcement coalition consisting of the Attorney General, the four county prosecutors and police chiefs, developed a new, uniform forfeiture law codified as chapter 712A of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. It provided law enforcement with an additional tool which could be utilized in their continuing efforts to reduce crime by allowing the seizure and forfeiture of assets, profits, and instrumentalities obtained or used in the commission of criminal offenses.

Conventional criminal sanctions have had a significant impact in the past but due to the increasing profitability of certain crimes, it has not reduced the recidivism rate for these crimes. Under chapter 712A of the Hawaii Penal Code, civil forfeiture proceedings are initiated against the profits or property seized and not the owner thereby allowing property to be forfeited regardless of the outcome of any criminal proceedings.

The Honolulu Police Department has been using forfeiture as a means of depriving criminals of their desired goals for committing the crime, mainly profit. By removing their profits and assets, working capital is reduced or eliminated, thereby preventing them from furthering their operations. As an added benefit, proceeds realized through the sale of forfeited property are used to supplement the Department's training and equipment budget.

Property which may be seized and forfeited varies depending on the crime involved. A purse snatcher's vehicle may be forfeited if it was used to transport the criminal to the crime scene or used in a "drive-by" type of purse snatching. A drug trafficker may have his home forfeited if investigation proved that it was obtained using proceeds he acquired through his illegal activity. Other property which may also be forfeited include currency, assets in a bank account, as well as various household items if it was acquired through the criminal activity.

Criminal violations subject to forfeiture include murder, theft, gambling, narcotics offenses, felony prostitution, and others. A complete list of offenses is described in chapter 712A of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.