A larger replacement for the Oahu Community Correctional Center at a new location is one piece of a possible major overhaul of Hawaii’s crowded and old prisons and jails, state officials say.
The overhaul could include new or expanded correctional facilities at its seven institutions and adding an eighth facility for a total prison bed space for up to 4,425 inmates. It could also include addressing the governor’s goal of bringing home the roughly 1,500 Hawaii inmates housed at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona.
"We’re asking for ideas," said Toni Schwartz, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman. "There’s nothing set in stone. We’re looking at options."
The Public Safety Department issued a formal request Friday seeking information from individuals, companies and project development teams with relevant experience or expertise. The deadline is Dec. 16.
The department has not significantly expanded prisons to deal with the chronic overcrowding since 1987 when the Halawa Correctional Medium Security Facility was opened, the request says.
A SOLUTION to the crowding and the gradual deterioration at the facilities, which are overdue for renovations and modernization, has been in the works for many years, Schwartz said.
Public Safety Director Ted Sakai, who "has always said we need to build a new prison," had been working on it when he was director 12 years ago, she said.
"The priority is to right-size our prison system," she said.
Overcrowding at OCCC was what led to doubling up of inmates in March, when Joseph Tui allegedly killed his cellmate, Cyrl Chung, Schwartz said.
Built in 1916 in Kalihi when the area was sparsely occupied, the prison’s neighbors now include a school and businesses.
"Now that the community has gradually grown and surrounded it, it’s not a good location there," Schwartz said.
The department is looking into increasing bed space to 1,125 from 950 capacity at OCCC. It currently houses about 1,000 inmates, well over capacity, Schwartz said.
Sen. Will Espero, chairman of the Senate Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs Committee, said that OCCC is well located because of its proximity to the courts downtown. Suggestions to move it to West Oahu could be a problem because of the added resources needed to transport pretrial detainees to court due to the increased drive time, he said.
In addition to OCCC, the department is also seeking information on rebuilding community correctional centers on Kauai and Hawaii, and to continue development of a Maui Regional Public Safety Complex for Maui inmates now housed at the Federal Detention Center and at Saguaro.
The Kauai facility was originally built to house 16 and uses Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers for housing. It has a 130-bed capacity but houses an average of 180, Schwartz said.
The department is also proposing a new facility in West Hawaii to reduce the cost of transporting prisoners daily from Hilo to the Kona courthouse.
"All of these combined construction of new facilities could easily add up to over $1 billion," Espero said. "We don’t have the money for such a large endeavor in the near term. It’s going to take a couple administrations to do this."
Schwartz said a private company, such as Corrections Corp. of America, could fund and build the new facilities. But all correctional facilities will be run by the state, the request for information says.
