Bills to curb agricultural crimes in Hawaiʻi are still making their way through the state Legislature.
A pair of measures, namely Senate Bills 763 and 1249, would strengthen penalties, create a dedicated group of state officers, and establish a special fund all to better prevent and punish agricultural crimes like theft and vandalism.
Sen. Tim Richards, vice-chair of the Senate’s Committee on Agriculture and Environment and a Hawaiʻi Island rancher, introduced the bills.
Agricultural crime has been a priority for him this year following a trespassing incident last year that led to the fatal shooting of 39-year-old Cranston Pia, a farmer from Waiʻanae, Oʻahu.
“One of the big issues is trespass. And people say, ‘What's the big deal? You have a big ranch. So what?’ Well, that's where we have theft, vandalism, poaching. And then we look at what happened with Cranston Pia last year. That started out as trespass and poaching, and we see how that ended,” Richards said.
“So we have to be, I think, far more firm on taking a stance on crimes,” he added.
SB 1249 would establish an agricultural crime prevention program within the state Department of Agriculture to provide resources, education and enforcement specifically for the local agricultural industry.
It would also create and strengthen penalties for those crimes, including turning some crimes and repeat offenses into felonies, and would allow the state to confiscate material used to commit agricultural crimes.
SB 763 would create a group of law enforcement officers within the state Department of Law Enforcement whose focus is agriculture crimes, along with a fund to support them and other efforts to tackle those crimes.
A recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed mixed progress on agricultural crimes in the state. Crimes cost local farmers less in 2024 than in 2019 — from $14.4 million to $12.8 million — though that was dependent on the crime and the revenue the farm earned.
