Jillian E. Snider, a resident senior fellow of criminal justice and civil liberties at the R Street Institute, testified before the Hawaii House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee in support of H.B. 2494, which proposes reforms to the state’s approach to low-level offenses.
Snider, who is also a lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a retired New York City Police Department officer, stated that her experience in law enforcement has shown her “firsthand the operational realities of arrest processing,” and that H.B. 2494 would allow Hawaii to modernize its response to petty misdemeanors by expanding citation use instead of arrests.
According to Snider, “At its core, H.B. 2494 narrows when custodial arrest is necessary for petty misdemeanors and violations, establishing citation in lieu of arrests as the default while retaining clear, documented exceptions.” She emphasized that this measure does not change felony enforcement or remove officer discretion but seeks to align arrest authority with risk and more efficient use of resources.
Snider pointed out that law enforcement officers currently spend significant time processing minor offenses rather than focusing on serious crimes. National data from 2024 show about 7.5 million arrests were made in the U.S., but only around 22 percent involved violent or serious offenses such as assaults or weapons possession (https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov). In Hawaii specifically, just 16 percent of all arrests in 2024 were for violent crime or similar offenses; over eight in ten arrests were for non-violent or public-order offenses (https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov).
She argued that this misallocation impacts law enforcement’s ability to prevent and solve crimes posing real threats: “As someone who has worked patrol shifts, I can attest that the hours spent transporting, booking, and processing individuals for minor offenses represent time not spent on proactive policing, community engagement, or investigating serious crime.”
Workforce shortages are another concern raised by Snider. A national survey from 2024 found hiring difficulties had increased for police agencies compared to five years prior (https://www.rstreet.org/research/rebuilding-the-force-solving-policings-workforce-emergency). In Hawaii’s correctional facilities alone there are currently 434 vacancies among authorized officer positions—a vacancy rate of about 28 percent—leading many staff members to work mandatory overtime shifts (https://www.civilbeat.org/2025/01/report-hawaii-prison-guards-face-unsustainable-working-conditions). This has resulted in health issues among staff due to job stress.
The testimony highlighted how unnecessary arrests add strain on already overcrowded jails and further burden correctional staff: “Every unnecessary arrest for a petty misdemeanor or violation adds another person to Hawai’i’s already overcrowded jails,” she said.
Citations also reduce risks associated with physical confrontations during custodial arrests. Research shows more officers are injured during arrests than any other activity (https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol115/iss3/1), and using citations can decrease injury risk since they involve less physical contact.
H.B. 2494 preserves officer discretion when necessary—for example if identity cannot be verified or if there is concern about court appearance—and maintains exceptions for cases like DUI or domestic violence where immediate intervention may be needed (https://ncdoj.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Model-Citation-Policy.pdf).
Evidence from other jurisdictions indicates that expanding citation programs does not compromise public safety; instead it can lead to reductions in non-violent crime rates when implemented properly with training and documentation systems (https://econofact.org/crime-in-the-time-of-covid).
In conclusion, Snider called H.B. 2494 an evidence-based policy designed to improve public safety outcomes while reducing strain on limited law enforcement resources: “I respectfully urge the committee to pass H.B. 2494 so Hawai’i’s officers and correctional staff can devote their time, energy, and resources to the serious offenses that most directly impact public safety.”
