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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, May 31, 2003

State planning drug rehab 'prison' on Big Island

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

The state plans to build a prison-type facility on the Big Island — the first of its kind in the state — that will focus on drug-abuse treatment for 600 inmates, but actual construction won't begin for more than a year, officials say.

The need for treatment

• How many prisoners: 5,000, including about 1,350 in private Mainland prisons

• Drug treatment needs: Officials estimate 85 percent of prison inmates require treatment

• Location of new facility: To be determined

A $1.5 million planning study is under way to evaluate potential sites for the "secure treatment facility" and gauge its effect on surrounding areas.

Prison officials say locations that were considered in the past have not been ruled out, but others will be considered as well.

The facility, within a secure perimeter fence, would house medium-security inmates but would be more than a prison, Department of Public Safety corrections chief Frank Lopez said through a spokeswoman.

Drug-abuse treatment would be a priority but other educational and counseling programs would be included. The planning process, expected to take one year, will allow the public to ask questions and express opinions about the project, according to Lopez.

Designing the facility would require additional time and money before actual construction could begin, however.

The state is proceeding cautiously with the project as part of a comprehensive prison and treatment plan that may also include other new facilities and treatment programs, state comptroller Russ Saito said.

"We're taking a step back to see what are the feasible areas to put these kinds of facilities," he said. "We're also looking at what programs will be included, and their effect on planning the facilities."

Saito said the state is also reviewing its juvenile justice system.

"You don't want the juvenile facilities to be essentially a feeder network into the adult system," he said.

Officials are also considering building a secure treatment facility on O'ahu and a separate facility for women, according to Lopez.

The state has struggled for more than a decade with crowded prisons while drug problems increase, but has so far been unable to reach a consensus about what to do.

Former Gov. Ben Cayetano considered building prisons for Hawai'i inmates in Arizona and on the Big Island at King's Landing, in Ka'u, and near the Hilo airport.

The state also spent more than $2.8 million in the late 1990s preparing plans and environmental reports for a 2,300-bed prison at Kulani, also on the Big Island, but lawmakers never put up money to build it.

There are more than 5,000 inmates in Hawai'i's correctional system, including about 1,350 in private Mainland prisons that the state contracts with.

Prison officials estimate that 85 percent of Hawai'i's inmates need some form of treatment for drug or alcohol abuse and that more than 90 percent will be released at some point.

Gov. Linda Lingle has said she wants to make drug-abuse treatment a high priority to lessen the prospect that released inmates would return to prison.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070