Search Kalawao County Jail Roster

Kalawao County is unlike any other county in the state. There is no local jail. There is no county clerk. There is no sheriff. Fewer than 100 people live here, all on the Kalaupapa peninsula of Molokai. Any arrest or custody record that touches Kalawao County ends up in Maui County systems or in state databases. A Kalawao County jail roster search, then, is really a search through the Maui Community Correctional Center, state VINELink, and the Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This page walks through each path.

Kalawao County Jail Roster: What's Different

Most counties run their own jail. Kalawao does not. There is no local booking desk, no holding cell, no county police force. The county has no mayor and no council. Those jobs sit with the state Department of Health. That one fact shapes every Kalawao County jail roster question.

When someone is arrested on the Kalaupapa peninsula, Maui Police handle the call. The person is usually flown or shipped off the peninsula and booked on the main part of Molokai or on Maui. From there, the booking shows up in Maui County records and state databases, not in any separate Kalawao file. So when people search for a Kalawao County jail roster, they are really searching the Maui County jail roster with a Kalaupapa arrest flag.

Note: There is no county jail on Kalaupapa. All custody records for Kalawao arrests route through Maui County and state systems.

How to Find Kalawao County Jail Roster Data

There are three main paths. Each one shows a different slice of what a Kalawao County jail roster would look like if it existed as its own list.

First, use VINELink. The statewide VINE portal is free. Type a name or offender ID. If the person is in a state facility, VINELink shows the current hold, the facility, and any move. This is the fastest tool for a Kalawao County jail roster check.

Second, call the Maui Community Correctional Center. MCCC is the local jail for all of Maui County, and that includes Kalawao. The main line is (808) 873-5600. Staff can confirm whether a named person is in custody.

Third, check the full state inmate system. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation runs every jail and prison in the state. DCR records cover every Kalawao arrest that turned into a custody hold, no matter which island the person is held on.

To run a Kalawao County jail roster search you need:

• Full name of the person
• Date of birth if you have it
• Approximate arrest date

Maui Police Department's Role: Molokai Division

The Maui Police Department patrols the whole island of Molokai, the Kalaupapa peninsula, Maui, and Lanai. MPD handles any arrest tied to a Kalawao County jail roster entry. The Molokai Division sits at 55 Makoa Drive in Kaunakakai and can be reached at (808) 553-5355. That post is the front line for law enforcement on the peninsula.

Getting down to Kalaupapa is hard. The only land access is a steep mule trail. Most officers fly in. That means most arrests are flown out. The person goes to the Kaunakakai station on the main part of Molokai for booking, or is moved further to Wailuku on Maui. Either way, the first paper file lives with Maui Police, not with Kalawao County.

The MPD Records Section in Wailuku handles public requests for arrest reports. Reports are released when the case is closed. The fee is modest, and the process follows state open records rules. Maui PD is also the agency people call when they want to know if a Kalawao arrest even happened on a given date.

Molokai District Court

The Hawaii State Judiciary runs the court that hears Kalawao cases. The Molokai District Court sits in Kaunakakai and is part of the Second Circuit, which covers Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Kalawao. The main number is (808) 553-1100. Initial appearances, arraignments, and small claims all pass through this court.

Any Kalawao County jail roster name eventually shows up in a court record. eCourt Kokua, the state's online case search, lists case info, charges, hearing dates, and the final outcome. A name search here can tie a quiet Kalaupapa arrest to the larger state case file. Hours run Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Note: Felony cases move from the Molokai District Court to the Second Circuit Court on Maui in Wailuku. Serious holds sit at MCCC while the case runs.

Department of Health Administration

Kalawao County has one of the strangest setups in the country. The Hawaii Department of Health runs most day to day government on the Kalaupapa peninsula. This goes back to 1866, when the area was set aside as a settlement for people with Hansen's disease. The law has been updated many times, but the DOH link has never been cut. The Maui DOH office can be reached at (808) 586-4412.

Hawaii Department of Health handles the Kalawao setup from a state level.

The DOH site is the best starting point for any question about who does what on Kalaupapa, since the department still holds the lead role for local matters that a normal county would run.

DOH does not run a jail. The department holds resident rolls, public health files, and some settlement records. If a person's status on the peninsula is in question, DOH is the agency to call. For a direct Kalawao County jail roster hit, DOH will point the caller to Maui Police or to DCR.

History and Context

A bit of history helps explain the jail roster gap. The Kalaupapa settlement started in 1866. The state gave the area county status in its own right, but never built out a county government. Today fewer than 100 people live there. Most are former patients who chose to stay. The National Park Service runs part of the peninsula as Kalaupapa National Historical Park.

This shapes records in two ways. First, there is just not much crime to record. Kalawao County may go full years with no arrest. Second, when an arrest does happen, the paperwork is split across state and county files. There is no one office with a single list. A Kalawao County jail roster search has to cross check more than one source to be sure.

Statewide Jail Roster Resources

Because Kalawao has no local records office, state tools carry most of the weight. The key sites below cover every Kalawao County jail roster query that can be answered online.

VINELink is the statewide inmate lookup. It covers all state facilities.

The VINE portal above is the first stop for a current custody check on any name tied to Kalawao County.

The Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation runs every jail and prison in the state. DCR is the parent agency of MCCC, where any Kalawao hold ends up.

The DCR page lists each facility, each warden, and each main phone, which is useful when a Kalawao County jail roster lead crosses islands.

The Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center handles name checks and fingerprint-based criminal history reports. The office sits in Honolulu but serves every county, Kalawao included. The Office of Information Practices runs the state open records rules that all of these agencies must follow. Federal arrests are tracked at bop.gov/inmateloc. The Hawaii State Archives holds older records that may touch Kalawao history.

Kalawao County Jail Roster Laws

Two main laws shape what a Kalawao County jail roster looks like in the public record. The first is HRS Chapter 353, which tells DCR to keep records on every person in custody. That duty is the legal base for every Kalawao arrest that ends up in a state database. If Maui Police book a person on a Kaunakakai charge with a Kalaupapa origin, HRS 353 puts that file in the state system.

The second is the Uniform Information Practices Act, HRS Chapter 92F, often called UIPA. UIPA is the state open records law. It says most government records are open to the public, with narrow carveouts. Arrest logs, custody status, and most closed case files fall under UIPA. Non-conviction data has tighter rules under HRS 846. That is why a clean case can be harder to verify than an open one.

Put together, these laws mean anyone can run a Kalawao County jail roster check without giving a reason. No ID is needed to look up a name on VINELink or to ask MCCC if a person is in custody. For a written report or a full case file, a formal request under UIPA may be needed, and a small fee may apply.

Note: UIPA gives anyone the right to open records, but the agency has 10 business days to respond and up to 20 more days if the request is broad.

No Cities in Kalawao County

Kalawao County has no incorporated cities or towns. The few residents of the Kalaupapa settlement are served by state and Maui agencies. For local records work, residents look to Kaunakakai on the main part of Molokai or to Wailuku on Maui. No city page exists for Kalawao because there is no city to cover.

Nearby Counties

Arrests with a Kalawao tie may land on a neighboring island. If a Kalawao County jail roster search comes up empty, check the nearby county for the right facility.