Jodie Maesaka-Hirata

For Friday, March 30, 2012

By Lee Catterall

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 30, 2012

~~<p>The Abercrombie administration was handed a setback Wednesday when a state Senate committee stripped provisions from a House-passed bill that would follow an ambitious initiative aimed at returning inmates on mainland prison facilities to the islands. But the state’s new Public Safety director retains her goal to revise prison policies.</p>
<p>The House initiative was the result of a Justice Reinvestment proposal by the Council of State Government Justice Center, a New York nonprofit that helps states improve their correctional systems. Jodie Maesaka-Hirata, Hawaii’s first woman public safety director, has embraced the proposal to reduce recidivism, decrease the prison population and strengthen public safety.</p>
~~

The Abercrombie administration was handed a setback Wednesday when a state Senate committee stripped provisions from a House-passed bill that would follow an ambitious initiative aimed at returning inmates on mainland prison facilities to the islands. But the state’s new Public Safety director retains her goal to revise prison policies.

The House initiative was the result of a Justice Reinvestment proposal by the Council of State Government Justice Center, a New York nonprofit that helps states improve their correctional systems. Jodie Maesaka-Hirata, Hawaii’s first woman public safety director, has embraced the proposal to reduce recidivism, decrease the prison population and strengthen public safety. Login for more...