HI HR197

Urges the Department of Law Enforcement to establish a task force on ethical policing to evaluate the efficacy and impact of Hawaii's Weed and Seed programs.

Task force composition includes 12 members: representatives from the Attorney General, Public Defender offices, county Prosecuting Attorneys, Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission, Judiciary, Department of Law Enforcement, Governor's office, Senate President, House Speaker, University of Hawaii College of Social Sciences, affected communities, and a criminal justice professional.

Task force directed to analyze crime data, arrest rates, prosecution data, and policing data from the onset of Weed and Seed programs in Hawaii, with focus on crime rates, arrest disparities for marginalized communities, sentence lengths, officer presence, and resident perceptions of law enforcement encounters.

Task force must submit findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2025 Regular Session convenes.

Addresses concerns that Weed and Seed programs disproportionately target marginalized communities, result in over-policing of low-income neighborhoods, and may lead to unjustly high criminal sentences.