S.C.R. No. 62 Summary

• Urges the Department of Agriculture to establish a two-year Agricultural Crime Pilot Project in Honolulu and Kauai to examine and assess effectiveness of prosecuting agricultural theft and vandalism cases.

• In 2019, nearly 19,000 incidents of theft, vandalism, and trespassing on Hawaii farms occurred, costing approximately $14.4 million in losses and security costs, yet only 970 incidents were reported and resulted in 67 convictions.

• Requests the Department of Agriculture to coordinate with the Department of Law Enforcement and local counties to hire one full-time enforcement officer for each county, placed within the respective prosecuting attorney's office or other law enforcement agency.

• Directs assessment of the pilot project by identifying conviction numbers, best practices for prosecution and inter-agency coordination, reporting improvements, areas of high crime prevalence, crime prevention methods, and recommendations for a statewide program.

• Requires submission of interim report no later than 20 days before the 2025 regular legislative session and a final report no later than 20 days before the 2026 regular legislative session.