New housing unit is a start but not a solution for chronic overcrowding at Hawaiʻi County’s primary correctional facility

County and state officials on Thursday celebrated the completion of the long-awaited 48-bed medium security housing unit that expands Hawaiʻi Community Correctional Center in Hilo, but it is not enough to end the severe overcrowding. 

The 46-year-old Hawaiʻi Community Correctional Center, known as HCCC, is the most overcrowded correctional facility in the state and may remain so despite the additional 1,940 square feet of housing from the Kaumana Housing Unit project.

The project has been in the works since late 2017, with construction beginning in 2022.

“So this has been a long time coming,” said HCCC Warden Cramer Mahoe. “Nevertheless, we are grateful to have this building to help some of the overcrowding and give more space for recreation, education and work programs and training.”

The Kaumana Housing Unit project, which can be seen on the corner of Komohana Street and Waianuenue Avenue, also includes a 1,680-square-foot day-room, a 1,200-square-foot recreation yard, a 400-square-foot multi-purpose room and a 400-square-foot viewing garden. There are smaller spaces for showers, a staff station, office space, medical/interview room, staff toilet and storage.

As of today, the Hawaiʻi Community Correctional Center has 304 inmates with 210 awaiting trial and 48 probation violators. Although the design capacity increases from 206 to 254, the facility will still be overcrowded with an occupancy rate of about 119%, Mahoe said.

The original concept for the expansion was a module to house 144 inmates. Those plans were scaled back to 48 beds because of lack of funding.

“HCCC is the focal point of discussion when it comes to overcrowding and public safety, which is not the fault of anyone here, but our population has grown exponentially, nearly doubling since my dad started (as a correctional officer) in 1985,” said Kelden Waltjen, Hawai’i County’s prosecuting attorney. “Compounding this issue is that we don’t have a facility on the west side of the island.”

While addressing state and county officials during the ceremony, Waltjen and state Sen. Lorraine Inouye both noted that the lack of correctional facilities on the west side of the island puts a strain on the resources and staff working at the three facilities on the east side, which include HCCC, Hale Nani and Kulani Correctional Center.

Waltjen also emphasized the need to prioritize Hawaiʻi Island’s facilities as an investment that needs to be maintained and ensure that corrections staff are equipped with necessary resources and tools to do their jobs effectively.

“Renovations to existing facilities and this new facility are steps in the right direction, but we still need more resources and services,” Waltjen said. “Hawaiʻi Island is a big island, but a small community and most of us know someone who is impacted by this facility, whether they worked here, or served time here.”

This concerning level of overcrowding has affected the community inside and outside the jail, especially when it comes to judges releasing felons facing serious charges despite the objections of county prosecutors. 

In a statement released on social media earlier this month, the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney stated that judges often refer to HCCC’s overcrowding as the basis to release offenders over prosecutors’ objections. This exasperates Hawaiʻi’s lsland’s need for new and improved correctional facilities that can house serious offenders and accommodate rehabilitative care, treatment, education and social services to reduce recidivism.

On Jan. 1, the state Department of Public Safety was re-designated as the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with the goal of transforming Hawaii’s correctional system, which has been perceived as a punitive model, into a system focused on rehabilitation, restoration and reentry.

Education programs, working training and drug rehabilitation often help reduce recidivism, which is the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend. Some of HCCC’s personal and professional development programs include: 

• Violence Intervention, Domestic Violence Anger Management, Victim Support Services: Big Island Substance Abuse Council services for female inmates preparing to be released into the community with a history of domestic violence
• Substance Abuse Treatment:
  Alcoholics Anonymous — Volunteer-led AA meetings
  Narcotics Anonymous — Volunteer-led NA meetings
• Sex Offender Treatment:
  For inmates convicted of a sex offense or inmates needing treatment as assessed and approved by staff
• Family Re-Unification Programs:
  Parenting After Violence — Big Island Substance Abuse Council program for female inmates with children and has a history of domestic violence with services provided by BISAC.
• Furlough Programs
  Hale Nani Furlough — Provides eligible inmates with an opportunity to actively job seek, establish financial stability, develop pro-social relationships, and find appropriate housing prior to release from incarceration.

When planning the ceremony, Mahoe asked Kahuna Ikaika Dombrigues, who spent 33 years working at HCCC and Kulani Correctional Facility, to perform the official blessing of the new space.

During the blessing, Dombrigues spoke about the need for hoʻoponopono, which is the practice of reconciliation and forgiveness that involves expressing remorse, gratitude and love.

“This is the place where it is time to reflect, to look at oneself and think, I want to be a better person and change,” Dombrigues said. “We’re all human, we all make mistakes. The hope is for our people here to come out and be better than what they were.”

For more information on HCCC and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, visit https://dcr.hawaii.gov.