§806-73 Duties and powers of probation officers; adult probation records. (a) A probation officer shall investigate any case referred to the probation officer for investigation by the court in which the probation officer is serving and report thereon to the court. The probation officer shall instruct each defendant placed on probation under the probation officer's supervision of the terms and conditions of the defendant's probation. The probation officer shall keep informed concerning the conduct and condition of the defendant and report thereon to the court, and shall use all suitable methods to aid the defendant and bring about an improvement in the defendant's conduct and condition. The probation officer shall keep these records and perform other duties as the court may direct. No probation officer shall be subject to civil liability or criminal culpability for any disclosure or nondisclosure, under this section, if the probation officer acts in good faith and upon reasonable belief.
(b) All adult probation records shall be confidential and shall not be deemed to be public records. As used in this section, the term "records" includes but is not limited to all records made by any adult probation officer in the course of performing the probation officer's official duties. The records, or the content of the records, shall be divulged only as follows:
(c) Every probation officer, within the scope of the probation officer's duties, shall have the powers of a police officer. [L 1931, c 41, pt of §4; RL 1935, §5539; RL 1945, §10845; RL 1955, §258-55; HRS §711-79; ren L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1985, c 167, §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1989, c 262, §1; am L 1990, c 189, §5; am L 1993, c 20, §1; am L 1994, c 102, §1; am L 1995, c 224, §1; am L 2001, c 288, §1; am L 2006, c 36, §1; am L 2010, c 149, §1; am L 2011, c 119, §§2, 4; am L 2016, c 231, §64; am L 2017, c 77, §5]