HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

143

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING the Judiciary, Department of Public Safety, and the county police departments to work in a coordinated effort to determine a comprehensive plan to permanently alleviate the problem of a backlog in unserved arrest warrants THAT goES beyond only fiscal and budgetary discussions or solutions.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, as of July 2007, the State had an estimated backlog of 61,500 arrest warrants unserved; and

 

     WHEREAS, this backlog includes traffic, felony, and misdemeanor warrants; and

 

     WHEREAS, the unserved arrest warrants are costing the State a potential of $20,000,000 in unpaid fines and fees; and

 

     WHEREAS, the considerable number of unserved warrants also creates a public safety concern; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are many factors that contribute to the backlog in unserved arrest warrants; and

 

     WHEREAS, a permanent solution to clear up the current backlog and ensure that future arrest warrants are served in a timely manner must be developed; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Judiciary, Department of Public Safety (PSD), the county prosecutor offices, and the county police departments are urged to work in a coordinated effort to determine a comprehensive plan to permanently alleviate the problem of a backlog in unserved arrest warrants that goes beyond only fiscal and budgetary discussions or solutions; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Judiciary, PSD, and the county police departments are requested to present their findings in a joint report to the Legislature, including any proposed legislation, no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Administrative Director of the Courts, Director of Public Safety, the county prosecutor of each county, and the chief of each county's police department.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Unserved Arrest Warrants; Backlog