The Honolulu Police Department’s primary considerations
in serving penal summonses are the safety of the public and police personnel.

GENERAL PROCEDURES

A. In general, all penal summonses received by the
department for service shall be routed through the
Warrants Unit of the Records and Identification Division.
The Warrants Unit shall maintain a record of the
distribution, follow-up action, and return of all
penal summonses to ensure that they are served as soon as practicable.

B. Filing of Penal Summonses

When penal summonses are received by the Warrants
Unit, they shall be logged and then distributed to
the appropriate districts for service.
TIME PERIODS FOR SERVING PENAL SUMMONSES

A. Penal summonses shall be served only during
the time period specified in the orders.

B. When no time period for service is specified
in the order, penal summonses shall not be served
between the hours of 2200 and 0700 on premises
closed to the public.

Service of Penal Summonses

A. Penal summonses shall be served as soon as practicable.

B. A suspect who is located for an offense for
which a penal summons has been issued but not
served shall not be arrested. Instead, an attempt
should be made to serve the penal summons on that person.

C. Service and Return Procedures

1. When serving a penal summons, the officer
shall provide the defendant’s copy to the
person named in the document. The officer
shall then record his or her name and
identification number and the date, time,
and place of service in the space provided
on the court’s copy of the document.

2. A copy of the Attempt to Serve Legal Instrument,
HPD-222 form, shall be attached to each penal summons.
The required information shall be entered on the form
each time an officer attempts to serve the document.

3. An officer may transfer a penal summons to
another officer for service when it is necessary
or practicable to do so. The Warrants Unit
shall be notified of the document transfer.

4. All penal summonses shall be turned in at
the end of the officers’ work shifts to their
supervisors who are responsible for turning
the summonses in to the Warrants Unit.

5. The Warrants Unit shall ensure that all
unserved penal summonses that bear specific
dates for service and return are promptly
returned to the courts. A copy of the Attempt
to Serve Legal Instrument, HPD-222 form,
explaining why it was not served, shall
accompany each document. The original form
shall be retained by the Warrants Unit.

D. Service of a Penal Summons on Military Personnel

Service of penal summonses on military personnel
shall be coordinated through the appropriate Provost
Marshal’s office, Base Legal Officer, Base Police, or
Military Command.