[1] Officially recognized as a part of the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1846, the police department serves the entire island of O'ahu (which is coextensive with the City and County of Honolulu), covering over 600 square miles (1,600 km2) of territory, with just over 900,000 residents[2] (not including military members) and over four million annual visitors.

Constables wore a distinct police insignia that consisted of a scarlet crown with the initials KIII in honor of Kamehameha III.

The committee also advised that the office of sheriff should be retained and charged with the duty of serving civil process, of maintaining the Honolulu prison system and to act as coroner.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Territorial Governor Joseph B. Poindexter declared martial law and Hawaii fell under military governance under the Judge Advocate General's Corps.

For the duration of World War II, the Honolulu Police Department was forced to impose restrictions on civil liberties and hand people over for trial by a military judge.

In 1976 Sister Roberta Julie Derby became the first female police chaplain in the U.S. and would later go on to win the medal of valor for defusing a hostage situation.

The building was called Hale Maka'i and featured the latest technical advances of its time including a DNA crime lab unit, one of the first of its kind in the nation.

In October 2015, a former HPD officer was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for an "unprovoked attack" on two men in a game room.

In 2018, Lieutenant Eric Yiu, a veteran detective who investigated financial crimes, was indicted on six felony counts of making false statements on his state tax returns.

The ranks are identified as follows: Officers may have stars located on the right-side chest area of their uniform above their name tag.

HPD SSD members have several roles such as SWAT responding to high risk calls, hostage rescues, dealing with fugitive or dangerous criminals and barricaded subjects.

They are tasked in assisting HPD ground units by providing aerial observation for missing people, wanted fugitives, criminals and any other police related matter.

Prior to 2014, officers were issued the Smith & Wesson Model 5906 but have since been phased out due to the age of the pistol and limited availability of parts.

Officers carry their issued sidearm, the Glock 17 and can check out AR-15 rifles and less lethal shotguns from the armory while on their tour of duty.

Although most Officers carry their own personal long guns while on duty, respective stations throughout the island have a small arsenal of AR-15 rifles and less than lethal shotguns in the event they are needed.

Chan, inspired in part by the career of HPD vice detective Chang Apana, was created in the 1920s by Earl Derr Biggers and became one of the most important figures in American mystery fiction.

Connie Stevens played Cricket, a singer at the Hawaiian Village Hotel bar which the guys frequented at least once a show.

Jack Lord starred as Steve McGarrett, head of the elite state law enforcement office which worked alongside the chief of the Honolulu Police Department.

McGarrett and "Danno" were straight-laced men with extreme dedication to law and justice fighting the forces of evil around the islands, especially in seedy downtown dives.

[24] Like its predecessor, the remake prominently featured the HPD, usually uniform officers assisting the Five-0 task force in apprehending suspects, collecting evidence and securing crime scenes.

is about a private investigator working closely with Honolulu Police Department officers Nolan Page and Yoshi Tanaka, while trying to enjoy the "easy life" at the estate of a very reclusive mystery writer named "Robin Masters" and his "butler" Jonathan Higgins (played by Texas-born veteran actor John Hillerman).

The series was widely applauded for being the first to recognize the difficulty Vietnam War veterans faced in making the readjustment to civilian life.

Many episodes touched upon the impact that serving in Vietnam had on Magnum and his friends, as well as echoes to events of World War II.

Similar to Five-0, the show prominently featured HPD assisting Magnum and his partner Juliet Higgins in apprehending suspects, raids, or providing information from the department.

It starred Robert Ginty and Jeff McCracken as two Chicago cops who bag their boring jobs in the frozen Windy City to become detectives in paradise; their boss was played by veteran actor Mako Iwamatsu.

The show featured an elite Honolulu Police Department detective squad charged with fighting the most notorious of Hawaiʻi mob criminals.

Starring in the show were Michael Biehn from The Terminator as Sean Harrison, Sharif Atkins from ER as John Declan, Ivan Sergei from Crossing Jordan as Danny Edwards, Eric Balfour from Six Feet Under as Christopher Gains, and newcomers Aya Sumika as Linh Tamiya and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Captain Terry Harada.

The series was canceled after eight episodes, partly due to strong competition from another show produced in Hawaii, ABC's Lost.

The most prominent character in NCIS Hawai'i from HPD was Detective Dalia Reed, who served on the Narcotics Task Force.