The closure of Kulani Correctional Facility on the Big Island is not in the best interest of our state. We are in a very difficult budget crisis, but removing a facility from the correctional system is a mistake.

Kulani is an important facility for rehabilitating Hawai'i inmates, and the need has not diminished or gone away.

The governor has had success in her two terms in areas such as Hawaiian Homelands, the Marine National Monument, and energy sustainability, to name a few. But closing Kulani will be seen as a black mark almost equal to the loss of the Superferry.

Hawai'i currently has about 1,800 inmates incarcerated on the Mainland. While it is cheaper to imprison inmates on the Mainland, the main reason is due to overcrowding in Hawai'i prisons. It costs Hawai'i taxpayers over $55 million per year for Mainland incarceration.

We should transfer Hawai'i inmates on the Mainland back to Hawai'i to fill Kulani and spend those millions of tax dollars here. A near empty facility should not be empty when one is exporting inmates. With the multiplier effect, those tax dollars would certainly help the economy. Keeping some inmates on the Mainland may be necessary, but the majority of them should be returned one day.

Having inmates closer to home benefits families and inmates when it comes to rehabilitation and support. One cannot put a price tag on the success of an inmate who goes through re-entry and rehabilitation: productivity in our society rather than a strain on society; stronger families; less crime; less victims. An inmate not properly treated or who does not have the services or assistance to improve will be more likely to commit another crime and be incarcerated again.

Closing Kulani is a bad idea. Kulani is a minimum-security facility where all inmates are required to work full time. It is an important component of our correctional system where inmates are learning skills, tools and knowledge to help them when they transition to the outside world. It is doing what it was intended to do. The sexual offender treatment program is also housed at Kulani, and has had much success in this rural, minimum security facility. Moving the SOTP to Halawa is unwise and increases the chances that sexual offenders will be intimidated by the general population and have a more difficult time with their programming; it is not best practice to have these inmate populations so close together.

The Department of Public Safety did note that sexual offenders will be segregated from the general population. However, the possibility of distractions, harassment, and direct threats will increase. Halawa's chronic lockdowns could also result in program and class cancellations, thus lengthening the time to complete a program, ultimately costing more.

Inmates from Kulani have also been a benefit to the Big Island through their community service projects. Estimates are the prison inmates have saved the county or state governments about $200,000 per year for their work. During emergencies and civil defense situations they have also been a source of labor to help where needed. This amount decreases the projected $2.6 million in savings stated by state officials. Placing Public Safety Department employees on our unemployment rolls will also decrease the projected savings.

Finally, convicted felons are given a maximum sentence by the courts and a minimum sentence by the Hawai'i Paroling Authority. When the minimum sentence ends, that is the tentative parole date. Inmates must complete their programming and training to be eligible for furlough or parole. If their prescriptive programming is not completed, they must wait until their programming is completed or serve their maximum sentence.

Incarceration costs increase and tax dollars for other worthy projects and services are diverted when maximum sentences are served and incarceration stays are extended.

Kulani Correctional Facility is an integral part of our corrections system and assists many inmates with rehabilitation. A rehabilitated offender is the type we want leaving our corrections system. With at least 95 percent of all inmates scheduled for release one day, a dollar value cannot be placed on the importance and need for Kulani. The chances of a rehabilitated inmate succeeding after prison are improved with Kulani kept open.

There are other ways to save tax dollars such as electronic monitoring, home detention, mandatory employment, mandatory training and counseling, and drug testing for certain offenders in a community-based setting with extensive law enforcement and case worker oversight. We do not have to close Kulani. It is not too late for the governor and Department of Public Safety to reconsider their decision.

Sen. Will Espero is chairman of the Senate Public Safety & Military Affairs Committee. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.