Prison systems across the United States, including in Hawaii, say they recognize the importance of keeping inmates connected to family and friends while incarcerated. That’s why they have visiting days. Inmates who receive regular visitors generally cope better behind bars and back in the community once they are released.

So the fact that Oahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) has canceled all but four of the 22 visitation days that should have been offered over the past two and a half months is not only unfair to the prisoners and their loved ones, but also a potential threat to public safety, given that even inmates detained on our shores are thwarted from preserving or improving human relationships that could help them lead more productive lives on the outside.

The reason so many visiting days are canceled is nothing new: the prison’s adult corrections officers (ACOs) are prone to calling in sick on the weekends, especially when there’s a big sporting event. Roughly a third of the 214 ACOs scheduled to work on Super Bowl Sunday this year called in sick, which meant that 68 guards were absent. When the prison is short-staffed, many of the guards who do show up pull double shifts. "Non-essential" activities, including visits, are canceled.

After showing up at the prison only to be turned away weekend after weekend, it’s no wonder some family and friends stop trying. OCCC only offers one weekend visiting day a week as it is, and the fact that it is so often canceled exacts an emotional toll on families and inmates — some of whom are mentally ill — that should not be easily dismissed. This sick-leave abuse costs taxpayers dearly as well. The overtime bill at OCCC was $2.6 million for fiscal year 2013, and $3.2 million the year before.

The best solution to this perennial problem lies at the negotiating table and demands that the state take a much tougher stance in future contract talks with the United Public Workers, the powerful labor union that represents the ACOs.

Corrections officers are entitled to 21 days of sick leave a year, and do not need to produce a doctor’s note until they have been out for five consecutive days. Department of Public Safety Director Ted Sakai points out that employees are paid for unused sick leave at the end of year. Therein lies the crux of the problem. Too many prison guards treat sick leave as regular time off, vacation time to which they are entitled, rather than using it as intended, to recuperate from illness- es and to receive medical care.

Tightening any of the rules surrounding sick leave would surely be resisted by the union, but this has been an ongoing issue that demands the state’s attention. Even strengthening the requirement for a doctor’s note would be a good start — five days without any medical verification is a stretch.

A more immediate tactic, one which DPS, to its credit, already is trying to employ, is to increase the standards for new hires and screen out individuals who are simply not up to the job, which is at times grueling and stressful. Working as a corrections officer is not for everyone, but those who are hired and trained for the job must be expected to do it — no matter what’s on TV at the time of their next shift.

The most immediate tactic would be to stop declaring visitation time at OCCC a nonessential activity.

Especially for convicts who are truly committed to rehabilitation, being able to see their parents, their wives and their children is no less important than any other aspect of life behind bars. Continually canceling this measure of humanity for the prison population ultimately is costly for all of us.