On National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, the state Department of the Attorney General’s newly formed Special Investigation and Prosecution Division reiterated its commitment to combatting the problem and encouraged the public to get involved.

What You Need To Know

  • Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or sex act or causing someone under the age of 18 to engage in a commercial sex act, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion

  • Under state law, sex trafficking and labor trafficking in the first degree are both class A felonies, punishable by up to 20 years in prison

  • The Special Investigation and Prosecution Division was created via an appropriation by the 2022 state legislature

  • A recently released report from the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women found that 43% of sex trafficking cases involved Native Hawaiian girls trafficked in Waikiki

“SIPD was created to help fight human trafficking through aggressive criminal prosecution to hold offenders accountable,” said supervising deputy attorney general David Van Acker. “Our division also aims to raise public awareness about the threats that human trafficking presents to the state by providing training opportunities and partnering with community stakeholders. We are eager to collaborate with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to achieve these goals.”

Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or sex act or causing someone under the age of 18 to engage in a commercial sex act, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Under state law, sex trafficking and labor trafficking in the first degree are both class A felonies, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The division advises members of the public who suspect human trafficking to make a report via one of the following resources:

  • In cases of emergency, call 911
  • For child trafficking reports on Oahu: (808) 832-1999
  • For child trafficking reports on neighbor islands: 1-888-398-1188
  • For human trafficking reports to federal law enforcement: 1-866-347-2423
  • To get help from the National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888 

SIPD was created via an appropriation by the 2022 state legislature.

A recently released report from the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women found that 43% of sex trafficking cases involved Native Hawaiian girls trafficked in Waikiki. The report also cited data from Operation Keiki Shield, a law-enforcement operation aimed at catching child sex traffickers, that showed 38% of those arrested for soliciting sex online from a 13-year-old were military personnel.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.