The opening of a new private prison to house Hawai'i convicts in Eloy, Ariz., further cements the state's practice of shipping inmates to the Mainland, a key critic of the policy said yesterday.

Senate Public Safety Committee Chairman Will Espero said the construction of the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona appears to be "a very discreet way to build a new Hawai'i prison, but on the Mainland."

Espero has questioned the practice of housing inmates out of state and advanced a bill this year that would have required the state Department of Public Safety to develop a plan to return women inmates to Hawai'i. The bill failed, however, and Espero said the state has few alternatives to the Mainland prisons in the short term.

"We are at the point where we are today, and I guess there's probably no other fiscally prudent options right now," he said.

Saguaro Correctional Center is an 1,896-bed medium-security prison featuring stun fences and sophisticated new alarm systems to deter escapes and prevent false alarms. Saguaro will be dedicated today, with the first Hawai'i prisoners scheduled to move in later this week.

The facility also has X-ray machines and metal detectors to help prevent smuggling of prison contraband by staff and visitors, and has surveillance cameras that are "virtually impossible" for inmates to destroy, according to a description published by owner Corrections Corporation of America.

The $95 million facility will house both men and women inmates from Hawai'i, and will allow the Hawai'i Department of Public Safety to consolidate convicts now held in CCA prisons in Oklahoma, Mississippi and Kentucky.

Some critics argue that housing Hawai'i inmates out of state separates convicts from their families and reduces their chances for rehabilitation, but state officials contend it is cheaper to house inmates on the Mainland than in state-run prisons in Hawai'i.

Some inmates prefer to serve their sentences on the Mainland because they say the private facilities offer them better access to drug treatment, educational and other programs that they need to complete to be considered for parole.

Other prisoners, particularly inmates with families and young children, prefer to serve their sentences in Hawai'i.

DECADE OF EXPORTING

Hawai'i has been exporting prisoners for more than a decade, and the state now spends about $50 million a year to house inmates in CCA prisons on the Mainland because there is no room for them in Hawai'i prisons.

State officials have said the Saguaro prison will be a "treatment-intensive" facility with an array of rehabilitation programs beyond anything available in Hawai'i prisons. The state contract with CCA requires the Saguaro facility to offer programs in drug treatment, adult education, anger and stress management and other areas.

Hawai'i's contract with CCA also allows the state to house up to 500 inmates in the Red Rock Correctional Center next to the Saguaro site.

Hawai'i inmates will be moving into the new facility over the next six months, said Louise Grant, CCA vice president of marketing and communications.

EMBRACING HAWAI'I WAYS

About 160 staff members have been hired, including some with experience working with Hawai'i convicts. The staff was scheduled to attend a "Hawaiian diversity training class" today, Grant said. She said Saguaro will have about 300 employees.

CCA has arranged for a special menu for the Hawai'i inmates that includes rice and pork dishes. The prison will also observe Hawaiian holidays and will accommodate practice of traditional Hawaiian religious beliefs, she said.

The state now holds more than 2,100 convicts out of state, which is more inmates than the state holds in Hawai'i prisons.

The last three state administrations have each proposed building new prisons or secure "treatment facilities" in Hawai'i, but each administration, including that of Gov. Linda Lingle, dropped the idea after the proposals ran into community or political resistance.

The Saguaro prison is a new "prototype" correctional center for the Nashville-based CCA, with 16 buildings including six housing units. It is the 65th facility owned and operated by CCA, which houses more than 70,000 inmates in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

The facility will be the first CCA correctional center to have video conferencing in each housing unit, a system that allows prisoners to communicate with their families. The state will provide video conferencing equipment for parole hearings and court cases.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.