FY 24 HI_Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program

The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Hawaii will use Fiscal Year 2024 Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) funding to reduce, prevent, and investigate violent crime that is linked to agricultural crime. The State of Hawaii’s Department of Law Enforcement (DLE) will create a law enforcement investigator position that serves the entire state, focusing exclusively on investigating agricultural crime, and coordinating with other law enforcement agencies to investigate and analyze criminal activity (such as narcotics manufacturing or human trafficking) taking place on agricultural lands, for a period of two years. The purpose of creating a specialized position focusing on agricultural crimes within the DLE is to provide ranchers and farmers with a dedicated resource that can address their concerns and work with community members to prevent violent crimes, instances of vigilantism, and compile data from criminal activity reporting to create an accurate picture of how widespread agricultural crime is throughout the state, and how many other criminal activities it may tie into. 
 
In a report reviewing 2019, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) noted that agricultural theft and vandalism, and the expense of security measures to prevent these crimes in Hawaii cost farmers roughly $14,400,000 (USDA, 2020). In 2020, the state Department of Agriculture reported 66 cases of felony agriculture theft, 30 trespassing cases, and 48 Other Related Offenses cases in Hawaii County. Though there is no direct correlation between the rising index percentage and agricultural crime, there is a heightened opportunity for violent crime to occur when weapons are present during disputes on farms and ranches. For example, trespassing cases that stem from illegal hunting activities represent an increased danger of violence when firearms used for hunting are present.