Kalawao County Busted Mugshots

Kalawao County busted mugshots records sit with Maui County. Kalawao has no county government, no police department, and no court. The whole county covers about 13 square miles on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the north coast of Molokai. The Maui Police Department Molokai District takes on all law enforcement work here. The Second Circuit Court in Wailuku handles every criminal case. The Hawaii Department of Health and the National Park Service run day-to-day affairs for the settlement. This page shows where those records live.

How Kalawao County Works

Kalawao is the smallest county in the United States by land area. It is on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the north side of Molokai. The peninsula was set aside for people with Hansen's disease between 1866 and 1969. The county has fewer than 100 residents today, and most of them are older former patients who stayed after the isolation policy ended. No one new has been allowed to move in since the settlement was closed, so the population naturally declines.

Because of its history, Kalawao has an odd setup. There is no county mayor, no council, no police, and no jail. All that work is split between Maui County and the state. Any Kalawao County busted mugshots would come from a Maui PD arrest here, usually by the Molokai District. Cases then move to the Second Circuit Court in Wailuku. Inmates go to the Maui Community Correctional Center.

Getting to Kalaupapa is restricted. Access is by mule trail, small plane, or boat. Visitors need a permit from the Hawaii Department of Health. The sea cliffs on the south side of the peninsula are the tallest in the world and cut the settlement off from the rest of Molokai by road.

Maui PD Molokai District Coverage

The Maui Police Department covers Kalawao County by long-standing agreement with the State of Hawaii. The Molokai District office sits on Molokai, though any response to the Kalaupapa Peninsula needs special access. Arrests in Kalawao are processed by Maui PD and the paperwork goes back to HQ at 55 Mahalani Street in Wailuku. The Records Division there is at (808) 244-6345 or (808) 244-6355.

Any Kalawao County busted mugshots entry will end up in the Maui PD Records Division file. Booking info, fingerprints, and photos feed into the state HCJDC file like any other case. Mugshots taken at intake follow the same standard procedure Maui PD uses across all of Maui County.

Below is the page that ties Maui PD to Kalawao work. It is the Maui County Police Department page.

Use this page to request a file for any Kalawao incident.

Second Circuit Court Jurisdiction

The Second Circuit Court covers Kalawao by operation of law. The court is at 2145 Main Street, Wailuku, HI 96793, phone (808) 244-2700. Cases get filed here, and defendants and witnesses have to travel to Maui for court dates. There are no court facilities, probation offices, or other criminal justice services in Kalawao itself.

Court records for Kalawao cases are on eCourt Kokua. The system uses the Second Circuit filing prefixes, and the docket looks the same as any other Maui case. File downloads run $3 for 1 to 30 pages and $0.10 per page after that. For sealed or older files, contact the Wailuku clerk direct.

Because Kalawao County is small and remote, criminal matters here are rare. Most records that touch the county involve misdemeanor arrests during visits, park rule violations, or conflicts between residents and workers. Serious crimes get the same treatment as anywhere else in the state.

Hawaii Department of Health Role

The Hawaii State Department of Health runs the Kalaupapa Settlement. The department keeps medical and admin records for the residents and the site. These are not criminal records. They are not part of any Kalawao County busted mugshots file. Privacy protection for the residents is strict, based on the history of the settlement.

DOH works with the National Park Service to set the visit schedule and the permit rules. Any visitor has to go through an approval step before being let on the peninsula. That control keeps the remaining residents safe and preserves the cultural and medical history of the site.

For vital records like births, deaths, or marriages in Kalawao, the DOH Vital Records Section keeps the file. Older records from the settlement period may also be held at the State Archives. Historic settlement records are partly at the National Park Service archives.

Kalaupapa National Historical Park

The Kalaupapa National Historical Park covers the full area of Kalawao County. The National Park Service runs the site with DOH. Park rangers handle federal law enforcement within the boundary. State law violations go to Maui PD. For any incident that crosses both state and federal jurisdiction, the two agencies work together.

Park visit rules limit how many people come to Kalaupapa each day. Visits are by tour only. Tour operators have to hold a permit. That means Kalawao County busted mugshots entries tend to be rare, and the files that do exist are usually tied to specific incidents with visitors or workers.

Below is the Kalaupapa National Historical Park page.

The page has visit rules, permit info, and contact numbers for rangers.

Statewide Records Tie-In

Every Kalawao County busted mugshots file feeds into the statewide system. The Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center at 465 South King Street in Honolulu is the central hub. Call (808) 587-3279 for a criminal history check. The HCJDC site also has the public access sites page, where you can pay $25 for a conviction record printout. The Maui Police Department in Wailuku is one of those sites, which is the closest Public Access Site for Kalawao work.

For online searches, the state runs eCrim. A name-based search costs $5 and a full report is $12. Payment is by credit or debit card. For court records, use eCourt Kokua. Both tools cover Kalawao cases through the Second Circuit filing system.

The Office of Information Practices takes questions about access to Kalawao records under HRS Chapter 92F. Call (808) 586-1400 for the Attorney of the Day service. Staff can tell you if a record is open, confidential, or closed under a specific state law.

Expungement for Kalawao Arrests

If a Kalawao County busted mugshots arrest did not lead to a conviction, the arrest may qualify for expungement under HRS Chapter 831, section 3.2. The HCJDC Expungement Section at (808) 587-3348 handles these. Fees are $35 for a first request and $50 for a later one. Processing runs about 120 days. Read the expungement FAQ before you start.

As of July 1, 2025, under Act 003 (2025), expungement orders are sent straight from HCJDC to the Judiciary so related court files can be sealed. Older orders still need a separate court motion.

Related Hawaii Counties

Kalawao County work ties back to Maui County first. These are the other Hawaii county pages.