§708-803 Habitual property crime. (1) A person commits the offense of habitual property crime if the person is a habitual property crime perpetrator and commits a property crime.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "habitual property crime perpetrator" means a person who, within ten years of the instant offense, has convictions for offenses within this chapter for:
(a) Any combination of two felonies or misdemeanors; or
(b) Any combination of either one felony or one misdemeanor and one petty misdemeanor; or
(c) Three petty misdemeanors.
The convictions shall be for separate incidents on separate dates. The prosecution is not required to prove any state of mind with respect to the person's status as a habitual property crime perpetrator. Proof that the person has the requisite minimum prior convictions shall be sufficient to establish this element.
(3) A person commits a property crime if the person engages in conduct that constitutes an offense under this chapter. It can be established that the person has committed a property crime by either the prosecution proving that the person is guilty of or by the person pleading guilty or no contest to committing any offense under this chapter.
(4) Habitual property crime is a class C felony.
(5) For a conviction under this section, the sentence shall be either:
(a) An indeterminate term of imprisonment of five years; provided that the minimum term of imprisonment shall be not less than one year; or
(b) A term of probation of five years, with conditions to include but not be limited to one year of imprisonment; provided that probation shall only be available for a first conviction under this section. [L 2004, c 49, §1; am L 2014, c 118, §1; am L 2016, c 231, §36]
COMMENTARY ON §708-803
Act 49, Session Laws 2004, added this section, establishing the offense of habitual property crime, a class C felony. The legislature found that in 2002, Hawaii ranked first in the nation for property crime rates and second in larceny theft rates, and that a large portion of the crimes are committed by habitual offenders. The legislature also found that Act 49 would punish repeat offenders of property crime. House Standing Committee Report No. 902-4, Senate Standing Committee Report No. 2616.
Act 118, Session Laws 2014, amended subsection (4) by clarifying that the sentence for a person convicted of habitual property crime will be: (1) an indeterminate term of imprisonment of five years, with a minimum term of one year; or (2) for a first conviction only, a term of probation of five years, with conditions to include but not be limited to one year of imprisonment. The legislature found that property crimes have been a continual problem in Hawaii. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported in 2012 that Hawaii ranked thirty-one out of fifty-two jurisdictions when it came to the amount of property crimes at a rate per one hundred thousand inhabitants. The legislature strongly supported the services offered through the Judiciary's Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) Probation program, drug court, mental health court, and veterans treatment court, and suggested, without the intent of limiting the court's discretion, that when sentencing a defendant to a term of probation for conviction of a habitual property crime, the court consider sentencing the defendant to the programs, if appropriate. Senate Standing Committee Report No. 3258, Conference Committee Report No. 42-14.
Act 231, Session Laws 2016, amended this section by reducing by one the number of qualifying convictions required to meet the habitual property crime perpetrator status and allowing any offense committed under chapter 708 to qualify. Act 231 also doubled the length of time from five years to ten years that a conviction can qualify a person for habitual theft status, based on the recommendation of the penal code review committee, which was convened pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution No. 155, S.D. 1 (2015). The legislature concluded that it was necessary to further strengthen this section, the habitual property crime statute. While it is not desirable to incarcerate an individual for stealing items worth $300, the current felony theft threshold, especially when reminded of the fact that each day of incarceration costs Hawaii taxpayers $137 per incarcerated individual, it is important to properly penalize those individuals who have made a career of thievery. Conference Committee Report No. 138-16.
Structure Hawaii Revised Statutes
708. Offenses Against Property Rights
708-800 Definitions of terms in this chapter.
708-801 Valuation of property or services.
708-802 Property recovered in offenses against property rights.
708-803 Habitual property crime.
708-804 Control of albizia trees on private property.
708-810 Burglary in the first degree.
708-811 Burglary in the second degree. § §708-810 And 708-811 Commentary:
708-812 Possession of burglar's tools.
708-812.6 Unauthorized entry in a dwelling in the second degree.
708-812.55 Unauthorized entry in a dwelling in the first degree.
708-813 Criminal trespass in the first degree.
708-814 Criminal trespass in the second degree.
708-814.5 Criminal trespass onto public parks and recreational grounds.
708-814.7 Criminal trespass onto state lands.
708-815 Simple trespass. § §708-813 To 708-815 Commentary:
708-817 Burglary of a dwelling during an emergency period.
708-818 Burglary of a building during an emergency period.
708-820 Criminal property damage in the first degree.
708-821 Criminal property damage in the second degree.
708-822 Criminal property damage in the third degree.
708-823 Criminal property damage in the fourth degree. § §708-820 To 708-823 Commentary:
708-823.5 Aggravated criminal property damage.
708-823.6 Graffiti; sentencing.
708-824 Failure to control widely dangerous means. §708-824 Commentary:
708-825 Criminal tampering; definitions of terms.
708-826 Criminal tampering in the first degree.
708-827 Criminal tampering in the second degree.
708-828 Criminal use of a noxious substance. §708-828 Commentary:
708-829 Criminal littering. §708-829 Commentary:
708-830.5 Theft in the first degree.
708-831 Theft in the second degree.
708-832 Theft in the third degree.
708-833 Theft in the fourth degree. § §708-830 To 708-833 Commentary:
708-835 Proof of theft offense. §708-835 Commentary:
708-835.4 Unauthorized operation of a recording device in a motion picture theater.
708-835.6 Telemarketing fraud.
708-835.55 Theft; agricultural product; sentencing.
708-836 Unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle in the first degree. §708-836 Commentary:
708-836.1 Unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle in the second degree.
708-836.5 Unauthorized entry into motor vehicle in the first degree.
708-836.6 Unauthorized entry into motor vehicle in the second degree.
708-837 Failure to return a rental motor vehicle; penalty.
708-837.5 Failure to return leased or rented personal property; penalty.
708-838 Removal of identification marks.
708-839.6 Identity theft in the first degree.
708-839.55 Unauthorized possession of confidential personal information.
708-840 Robbery in the first degree.
708-841 Robbery in the second degree. § §708-840 And 708-841 Commentary:
708-842 Robbery; "in the course of committing a theft". §708-842 Commentary:
708-850 Definitions of terms in this part.
708-851 Forgery in the first degree.
708-852 Forgery in the second degree.
708-853 Forgery in the third degree. § §708-851 To 708-853 Commentary:
708-854 Criminal possession of a forgery device.
708-856 Obtaining signature by deception.
708-857 Negotiating a worthless negotiable instrument. §708-857 Commentary:
708-858 Suppressing a testamentary or recordable instrument.
708-870 Deceptive business practices. §708-870 Commentary:
708-871 False advertising. §708-871 Commentary:
708-871.5 False labeling of Hawaii-grown coffee.
708-872 Falsifying business records. §708-872 Commentary:
708-873 Defrauding secured creditors. §708-873 Commentary:
708-874 Misapplication of entrusted property. §708-874 Commentary:
708-875 Trademark counterfeiting.
708-880 Commercial bribery. §708-880 Commentary:
708-881 Tampering with a publicly-exhibited contest. §708-881 Commentary:
708-890 to 708-896 REPEALED. §708-890 Definitions.
708-891 to 708-893 OLD REPEALED. §708-891 Computer fraud in the first degree.
708-891.5 Computer fraud in the second degree.
708-891.6 Computer fraud in the third degree.
708-892 Computer damage in the first degree.
708-892.5 Computer damage in the second degree.
708-892.6 Computer damage in the third degree.
708-893 Use of a computer in the commission of a separate crime.
708-894 Forfeiture of property used in computer crimes.
708-895.5 Unauthorized computer access in the first degree.
708-895.6 Unauthorized computer access in the second degree.
708-895.7 Unauthorized computer access in the third degree.
708-8100 Fraudulent use of a credit card.
708-8101 Making a false statement to procure issuance of a credit card.
708-8102 Theft, forgery, etc., of credit cards.
708-8103 Credit card fraud by a provider of goods or services.
708-8104 Possession of unauthorized credit card machinery or incomplete cards.
708-8105 Credit card lists prohibited; penalty.
708-8106 Defenses not available.
708-8120 and 708-8121 REPEALED.
708-8200 Cable television service fraud in the first degree.
708-8201 Cable television service fraud in the second degree.
708-8202 Telecommunication service fraud in the first degree.
708-8203 Telecommunication service fraud in the second degree.
708-8204 Forfeiture of telecommunication service device and cable television service device.
708-8251 Arson in the first degree.
708-8252 Arson in the second degree.
708-8253 Arson in the third degree.
708-8254 Arson in the fourth degree.
708-8300 Unlicensed contracting activity.
708-8301 Habitual unlicensed contracting activity; felony.
708-8302 Unlicensed contractor fraud.
708-8303 Unlicensed contractor fraud in the first degree.
708-8304 Unlicensed contractor fraud in the second degree.
708-8305 Unlicensed contractor fraud; valuation of property.