Cops, Prostitutes and Pimps: In One Year, One Pimp Arrested

Rita Coury

Editor's Note: This article is the second in a series investigating how the Honolulu Police Department enforces Hawaii prostitution laws. Read our related coverage:

• No Arrests on a Saturday in Honolulu
• The Story Behind Our "Cops, Prostitutes and Pimps" Series
• Honolulu Prostitution Arrests Declining
• The Database
• Arrests Turn Up No Trafficking Victims

In one year, Honolulu police made more than 200 prostitution arrests. But only one of those arrests involved a pimp — and he was never charged.

That finding comes from Civil Beat's investigation into how Honolulu police enforce Hawaii's prostitution laws. To determine the scope of sex trafficking in Honolulu, Civil Beat tracked prostitution arrests for one year through the daily booking log, a public document that lists basic information about every arrest on Oahu.

The Honolulu Police Department confirmed that it had arrested just one pimp in 2011. The department said it also arrested just one pimp in 2010.

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