Indian Country Today - November 8, 2010
HONOLULU – Throughout the country, raw statistics as well as qualitative data paint a grim picture for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians.
As evidenced in a just-released report, “The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System,” for any given charge, the two groups are more likely to be sentenced to prison than any other racial or ethnic group in Hawai`i.
The extensive document came at the request of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs due to the alarming number of Native Hawaiian men and women incarcerated in the state and on the mainland.
This, coupled with the devastating impact imprisonment has on individuals, families, communities and the entire state, pushed OHA to conduct the research. This project was also supported by the State of Hawaii House Concurrent Resolution 27, passed in 2009.
The document reveals that although Native Hawaiians make up approximately 24 percent of Hawaii’s population, this group accounts for 25 percent of all arrests, 39 percent of incarcerations, and 41 percent of parole revocations.
Native Hawaiians account for more drug-related arrests than any other group, although their usage is not significantly greater, and their prison terms are longer than any other group....
