New policy cracks down on release of arrestees

Those who are arrested for low-level crimes and cannot make bail will no longer be able to be released by a judge on their own recognizance and given a future court date, but will be held overnight by the Honolulu Police Department and appear in court the following morning.

The policy change is the result of conversations last week among Mayor Rick Blangiardi, Prosecutor Steve Alm, HPD Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan, business leaders and the state Judiciary about public safety.

“Part of this effort right now is (that) better, stronger law enforcement makes people feel safe,” Blangiardi said on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program.

“We’ve got some bad actors out there with lots of priors who’ve been getting their wrist slapped and put back out on the street that become a detriment to society.”

Alm said that although those who are arrested and cannot make bail are traditionally kept overnight and appear before the court the next morning, the on-duty judge has been calling HPD and allowing some to be released on their own recognizance. They are given a trial date several weeks or even months down the road.

“Where the biggest problem is, is people with mental health issues,” he said.

“We want to be able to do the research in the morning and then be able to go to court and argue that the person should be sent to Hawaii State Hospital for an evaluation. When they’re released (by) the courthouse from the Police Department, we don’t get a chance to make that argument.”

Alm said the policy will not apply to many people, as this circumstance is not common.

However, it is a full reversal from a state measure that was vetoed by Gov. David Ige that would have eliminated cash bail for some nonviolent, low-level offenses and allowed arrestees to be released on their own recognizance. All the county mayors, police departments and Alm spoke out against the measure.

Additionally, Blangiardi announced that prosecutors would crack down on repeat offenders.

“There’s probably about 140 people out there … that unfortunately, when they finally do something really bad, you read about it and it gets reported that they had all these priors,” he said.

“Then the person reading it says, ‘How can this person with all these priors be out there walking around doing this? Wasn’t it inevitable that they were just gonna go off the rails here and do something bad?’ That’s what we’re trying to attack.”

Alm said that would mean charging repeat petty misdemeanors related to property crime as felonies using the habitual property offender statute. He was particularly interested in this option for those who may be committing crimes and also have a drug, alcohol or mental health issue.

That way, the person could be put on felony probation and be required to seek treatment.

“My guess is the more common result will be us asking for probation, and have them go to treatment,” he said.

“It’s the leverage of the criminal justice system.”

Alm said that ideally, people will be able to enter a treatment program within a month. The wait time is due to many of the treatment programs not having enough capacity to take people immediately. Alm said he hopes that the next governor will work on increasing the capacity of treatment facilities across the state.

For those who are convicted of stealing property and reselling it, prosecutors will ask for prison time.

The new policies will be in effect immediately.

American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai‘i Policy Director Carrie Ann Shirota spoke out against the new policy change.

“Our jails are severely overcrowded and even under the pressure of the ongoing COVID pandemic, this policy will result in holding a larger share of unconvicted people, in addition to holding far too many people for low-level offenses and technical violations,” she said in an email.

“Instead of wasting taxpayers dollars on detaining people who are awaiting their day in court, public officials should invest in robust pretrial services and better yet, crime prevention policies proven to work.”

Community Alliance on Prisons Coordinator Kat Brady questioned whether this kind of policy change should have been taken up by the legislative branch, such as the City Council.

“When are we going to stop criminalizing poverty?” she asked.

“I … think that the 3rd branch of government, legislative, should be involved rather than making policy behind closed doors.”