Proposals would let public acquire inmates’ creations

The wooden o‘o used at state groundbreaking ceremonies. The state seal decal on the door of every state vehicle. The health inspection signs in restaurant windows. The patches on the uniforms of prison guards.

Those were all made in prison.

Inmates in Hawaii don’t make license plates, but they make such a long and varied list of things, chances are you see something that was created inside a Hawaii correctional center almost every day.

Some of what is made is very practical, like inmate clothing and institutional linens. Other items are creative, soulful, one-of-a-kind.

Chris Lansford is administrator of Hawaii Correctional Industries, a division of the state Department of Public Safety that receives no taxpayer dollars and is totally self-sufficient. There are 37 employees in HCI, and all of their salaries are paid with proceeds from the inmates’ work. Currently, state law prevents products and crafts made through the agency to be sold to the public, but two bills are moving through the Legislature that would change that.

“We get requests all the time of people saying, ‘How can I buy that?’” Lansford said.

At the moment, everyone wants the chess table. It’s handcrafted Norfolk pine with curved legs, an inlaid chess board and hand-cut chess pieces. Detailed, thoughtful, carefully rendered, it is full of symbolism of a rehabilitated life.

HCI has been around for decades, and at one point, 850 inmates worked in print shops, built furniture, sewed and embroidered. In fact, koa bowls made in the 1950s and ’60s at Kulani Correctional Center are treasured items that show up for auction on eBay. The program had dwindled to about 100 inmates before Lansford was hired two years ago. She came from Montana with years of experience and the assignment of rebuilding the program.

One of her first moves was to change the rules for who could work. To be considered for employment by HCI, an inmate must be infraction-free for the last six months, have a high school diploma, GED or be currently enrolled in a GED program, and must go through an interview process like any other job.

HCI pays higher wages than the inmates would get at the prison laundry or other regular prison jobs. The money an inmate earns goes toward any fines and restitution that may have been imposed by the court, and to a savings account for when they re-enter society.

“People want to work,” Lansford said. The day new requirements were announced, the prison GED classes were suddenly filled with inmates who had a new motivation to get a diploma so they could get to work. “We have people who have never held a job or who never had a legal source of income before.”

The products made on the inside — things like office furniture and wooden boxes — are sold to state agencies and preapproved nonprofits, such as the Crime Victim Compensation Fund, which holds craft sales of inmate work to raise money for programs such as online offender registry and victim notification.

The inmate program uses money earned from sales to buy materials and supplies.

If either of the bills goes through, Lansford wants to open a little storefront where the public could purchase approved items. She is very mindful of all of the potential impacts — prices have to be set so as to not undercut local businesses.

So far, Senate Bill 2630 and House Bill 2188 have received strong support in the Legislature.

Lansford’s office and the adjoining workspaces are what she calls “a living warehouse.” All the desks, shelves, tables, lamps and chairs were made by inmates and are for sale to state agencies. The office displays the wide range of products, which means nothing matches.

“People who work here know that the chair they’re sitting on can be sold right out from under their backsides,” she said.

At this point, HCI employs 300 inmates. Lansford would like to expand the program, to have work for more inmates, maybe even start making Hawaii license plates. Being able to sell to the public would support that.

The program includes work such as landscaping, stuffing envelopes, assembling kit furniture and making signs and plaques, but the store would carry artful pieces like carved wooden lamps, fabric lunch bags, photography and hobby crafts. One of the most popular items requested by state agencies is a small wooden box with a hinged lid, like a jewelry box, often used as a gift for dignitaries. The wood used by HCI is all from Hawaii, though no koa tree is ever harvested for prison work. When the DLNR finds a fallen koa tree on state land, they often call HCI to see if the inmates can use the wood.

“Right now, we’re back-ordered on koa boxes,” Lansford said. “We’re waiting for a tree to fall.”

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.