Jails likely a legislative priority
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i's crowded and crumbling correctional system promises to be a major issue in the coming legislative session as the state struggles with drug abuse that has helped pack jails and prisons to the bursting point.
Advertiser library photo • Jan. 18, 2001
Four jails are outdated and must be replaced soon, and at least one new prison focused on rehabilitating drug offenders is also needed, according to Gov. Linda Lingle.
The O'ahu Community Correctional Center now houses higher-risk inmates than it was originally designed for.
Officials have debated such problems for years, but a renewed focus on crystal methamphetamine abuse and its impact on crime and communities may lead to action this time.
Concerns that crowding and poor conditions in the lockups will lead to costly lawsuits and court oversight are also forcing the issue.
"I don't see how we're going to avoid it," said Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee. "I think if there's anything we should have learned from the Felix consent decree and the adult mental health consent decree, it's that we don't want to be in that position."
The consent decrees settled lawsuits that challenged a lack of services for mentally disabled special-education students in public schools and poor conditions for adults in the state's psychiatric hospital.
Improvements in both situations proved expensive and controversial, and came only after years of court orders and harsh criticism.
The state may be facing its last opportunity to improve its correctional system on its own terms, said Hanabusa, D-21st, (Nanakuli, Makaha).
There are more than 5,000 inmates in Hawai'i's correctional system, including about 1,350 in private Mainland prisons. All the state's jails and prisons are at or over capacity.
A dozen lawmakers plan to inspect two jails today to look at problems and possible solutions.
The O'ahu Community Correctional Center in Kalihi has become known for crowding, an inefficient design that is hard to secure and costly to operate, and several high-profile escapes.
It has been continually expanded and now houses higher-risk inmates than it was designed for, requiring more guards than modern jails with similar population levels. Female prisoners are held in an open barracks, with no separate cells to segregate women who cause problems.
Reach Johnny Brannon at 525-8070 or jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.
