Ted Sakai

Hawaii’s new public safety director returns to familiar waters but with key reforms to implement

By Lee Catterall

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 20, 2012

~~<p>Ted Sakai had been retired for nearly seven years when the Abercrombie administration persuaded him to return as director of public safety to begin implementation of fundamental changes in Hawaii’s criminal justice system.</p>
<p>For nearly 27 years, Sakai, 65, had held numerous executive positions in the Department of Public Safety, which runs the state’s prison system.  He had been public safety director from 1998 to 2002 and returned to that post on June 1, succeeding Jodie Masaka-Hirata, who moved to the role of deputy director of corrections.</p>
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Ted Sakai had been retired for nearly seven years when the Abercrombie administration persuaded him to return as director of public safety to begin implementation of fundamental changes in Hawaii’s criminal justice system.

For nearly 27 years, Sakai, 65, had held numerous executive positions in the Department of Public Safety, which runs the state’s prison system. He had been public safety director from 1998 to 2002 and returned to that post on June 1, succeeding Jodie Masaka-Hirata, who moved to the role of deputy director of corrections. Login for more...