They were accused of
abusing the overtime policy
of the Department of
Public Safety

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

Nine adult corrections officers were recently fired because they repeatedly abused the Department of Public Safety's overtime policy.

Of the nine corrections officers dismissed since the overtime crackdown began in February 1997, two were women, Public Safety Director Keith Kaneshiro said.

The nine were among 75 corrections officers who showed a pattern of abusing the department's sick leave policy and, in some cases, scheming with other guards by calling in sick so others could rack up the overtime, Kaneshiro said.

Under a program worked out with the United Public Workers union in 1996, the corrections department's anti-sick leave abuse program lays out a series of suspensions, ranging from one day to 20 days, before a prison guard is terminated.

He said that so far, nine guards have been suspended for 20 days for abusing the department's sick leave policy.

In some cases the suspensions ended up in terminations, Kaneshiro said.

"You could see a pattern with some of the guards," Kaneshiro said. "Some people always were sick before a long holiday."

Others couldn't produce a medical validation for their illness from their doctor, he added.

Kaneshiro said the sick abuses created problems since many guards had to work to fill in for those who called in sick. "It was a problem also because we (the prisons) are overcrowded," Kaneshiro added.

"The idea was trying to get the bad guys who don't go to work forcing others to cover for them," Kaneshiro added.

On several occasions, the visitation program for inmate families and friends had to be canceled because there were not enough guards. On Mother's Day, families complained that they were denied access to inmates at the Women's Community Correctional Center because too many guards had called in sick.

The OT program was implemented in February after Kaneshiro took over as corrections head.

Kaneshiro said the department also has purchased two more dogs - Belgian Malanois - to help in its drug sweeps of the state's eight correctional facilities.

He said there is the possibility that the dogs, which will join the sheriff's canine unit, could be used to sweep the courtrooms of the Judiciary.