How to Look Up Honolulu County Jail Population Data
Honolulu County jail population data lives in several official documents and dashboards. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation publishes facility pages and population reports. The Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission publishes annual reports. The Bureau of Justice Statistics publishes national jail comparisons that include Hawaii. The Vera Institute publishes state-by-state jail incarceration trends. None of these is a real-time roster.
- DCR Corrections Division page with weekly population reports.
- OCCC facility page with capacity and program details.
- HCSOC annual reports for oversight and policy data.
- New Oʻahu Jail FAQ for population composition and planning context.
- DCR February 5, 2025 release on the UH Community Design Center proof-of-concept study.
For an individual Honolulu County inmate lookup, use the inmate records page. The current page covers Honolulu County jail population numbers, not individual searches.
OCCC Capacity and Facility Role
The DCR facility page lists OCCC at 950 beds. The facility sits on 16 acres in urban Honolulu and is the largest jail in Hawaii. OCCC is a jail rather than a prison: it holds pretrial detainees and short-sentence misdemeanants, plus a reintegration population of male sentenced felons nearing release. Female detainees are held at DCR facilities; the Women's Community Correctional Center serves longer state sentences.
| Facility | Address | Function | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| OCCC | 2199 Kamehameha Highway, Honolulu, HI 96819 | Oʻahu jail; pretrial and reintegration | 950 beds per DCR |
| Laumaka Work Furlough Center | Near OCCC | Work furlough / community employment | Managed by OCCC staff |
| Hālawa Correctional Facility | Oʻahu | State prison | State sentenced |
| Waiawa Correctional Facility | Oʻahu | State prison | State sentenced |
| Women's Community Correctional Center | Oʻahu | State women's prison | State sentenced |
Note: OCCC capacity has shifted over the years. DCR/PSD historical materials note OCCC opened in 1975 with a 628-inmate capacity, and late-1990s population exceeded 1,400 before facility changes.
Honolulu County Average Daily Population
DCR publishes end-of-month population reports that show OCCC design capacity and current headcount. The end-of-month report for November 30, 2024 included OCCC lines with classification columns and headcount data. Specific figures fluctuate; the DCR PDFs should be the controlling source for current Honolulu County jail population.
The combination of OCCC headcount, Laumaka work furlough numbers, and Hālawa, Waiawa, and Women's Community Correctional Center figures gives the wider DCR picture for Oʻahu sentenced and unsentenced populations. The HCSOC annual report and the DCR FY2024 annual report add long-term trends.
Demographic and Offense Breakdown
The New Oʻahu Jail FAQ published an October 2024 composition for the state jail population that the project's planners use as a planning baseline. The split was 27% property crimes, 14% violent crimes, 11% serious drug offenses, 8% revocation, 6% robbery, 5% sexual assault, 5% major violent crimes, and 24% other crimes. Six and seven-tenths percent of the state jail population described themselves as homeless or having no permanent address.
| Category | Share of state jail population (October 2024) |
|---|---|
| Property crimes | 27% |
| Violent crimes | 14% |
| Serious drug offenses | 11% |
| Revocation | 8% |
| Robbery | 6% |
| Sexual assault | 5% |
| Major violent crimes | 5% |
| Other crimes | 24% |
| Self-reported homeless / no permanent address | 6.7% |
These numbers describe statewide jail composition rather than the OCCC-only headcount; OCCC is the dominant Oʻahu jail and its population drives much of the statewide jail picture.
Pretrial vs Sentenced Honolulu County Jail Population
OCCC is described by DCR as pretrial-centered, with sentenced felon reintegration as a secondary role. Pretrial detainees often have not yet been convicted; their stay depends on bail amounts, court availability, and case scheduling. Sentenced reintegration populations are usually within a year of release and use OCCC programs to prepare for the community.
This split matters for the Honolulu County jail population picture because pretrial populations tend to move faster than sentenced populations. Bail posting, dismissal, or transfer all reduce OCCC's headcount on a daily basis. Sentenced reintegration populations move more slowly and are tied to parole, work furlough, and program completion.
Honolulu County Inmate Population Programs
OCCC programs for the pretrial population include education, self-improvement, and religious programming. The sentenced population takes part in substance abuse, domestic violence, cognitive skills, parenting, community service worklines, work furlough, and extended furlough. Correctional Industries work includes light construction. DCR states that in an average year, more than 400 inmates work in in-facility worklines for kitchen, laundry, and operations.
The Laumaka Work Furlough Center supports OCCC inmates who are actively seeking work or already working in the community. Project Bridge occupies one Laumaka building and serves offenders who completed primary substance-abuse treatment.
New OCCC Planning and Oversight
The state is studying a replacement facility for OCCC. The DCR February 5, 2025 release described the UH Community Design Center proof-of-concept study, Breaking Cycles: Alternative Models for Rehabilitation and Restorative Justice on Oʻahu. The study involved DCR, the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission, the governor's office, residents, community organizations, neighborhood boards, listening workshops, Hālawa Correctional Facility, and prison reform groups.
HCSOC publishes annual oversight reports through hcsoc.hawaii.gov. The commission was created to monitor Hawaii's correctional system and recommend reforms. Its reports give context for OCCC population trends and planning decisions.
The HCSOC annual reports page shown below is the main source for oversight commission data on Honolulu County jail population.
HCSOC reports often pull DCR population data together in one place, which is useful for tracking Honolulu County jail population over time.
Historical Honolulu County Jail Capacity
The OCCC site at 2199 Kamehameha Highway has its own long history. DCR's 2025 release said the old facility history reaches back to 1916. The current jail opened in 1975 after a face-lift and name change from Oahu Prison, with a 628-inmate capacity. Late-1990s population exceeded 1,400 before facility changes. The current DCR facility page lists 950 beds, reflecting operational changes over the decades.
Historical capacity matters because Honolulu County jail population should be read alongside operational capacity, not raw bed counts alone. Pretrial holds, court delays, and reform initiatives all push the daily count up or down regardless of fixed-bed numbers.
National and State Context
For broader context, the Bureau of Justice Statistics publishes national jail population data. Vera Institute publishes state-by-state jail incarceration trends. Both can be useful when comparing Honolulu County jail population to national or other state averages. Hawaii's centralized state system makes county-by-county comparisons trickier than mainland states, so most published rates use state-level data.
Searching for Honolulu County Inmate Records by Name
This page covers Honolulu County jail population data, not individual searches. For name lookups, custody status, and visitation, use the inmate records page. For released inmate tracking and parole, see the released inmates page. For criminal case files behind a custody hold, see the criminal records page.
Where the Honolulu County Population Data Comes From
Primary data sources: DCR end-of-month population reports; DCR FY2024 annual report; HCSOC annual reports; New Oʻahu Jail FAQ and planning materials; DCR 2025 release on the UH proof-of-concept study; and BJS national jail data. Each source publishes on its own schedule. For the most current Honolulu County jail population figure, use the DCR weekly population report linked from the Corrections Division page.
The DCR 2025 release on the proposed new OCCC shown below is the most recent official statement on Honolulu County jail planning.
The release frames the next phase of Honolulu County jail population planning and ties operational capacity to rehabilitation and restorative justice goals.