Editorial
Private prisons are no cure for all ills

A story in Sunday's Advertiser by Capitol Bureau Chief Kevin Dayton raises serious questions about efforts to put management of Hawai'i's prison system into private hands.

Dayton recounted a state report that found a private Arizona prison housing some 560 Hawai'i inmates to be "in turmoil" with conditions so hostile that a complete inspection was not possible.

The facility is operated by Corrections Corporation of America, which is about to renew a contract with Hawai'i to house more than 1,000 Island inmates.

The report on the Arizona facility must be put into context. Hawai'i's homegrown, public prisons were at one point in such poor shape that the federal government was forced to step in. And efforts by local prison officials to improve conditions have been hamstrung by lawmakers who are much more prepared to pass tough new sentencing laws than to approve the construction of new prison facilities.

So there has been little choice but to ship some of our swelling inmate population to the Mainland.

The April 30 report makes it clear that private operation is no cure-all. Some of the conditions outlined in that report are equal to, or even worse than, some of the conditions that got Hawai'i into trouble.

The report said the Arizona facility failed to meet its contractual obligations to provide adequate levels of drug treatment, job training and counseling to the people it is holding for Hawai'i. Security at the facility was poor and drug smuggling was reportedly common.

If Hawai'i's record were stronger, we would be in a better position to criticize the private facility. Still, local officials must insist that all aspects of the new contract with Corrections Corp. are fully satisfied as we move forward. If we are unable to do the job at home, we must insist that it be done properly by those we hire to do it elsewhere.