Legislators to start prison tour on Maui

A House-Senate committee is launching a tour of all of Hawaii's overcrowded neighbor island prison facilities, starting with the Maui Community Correctional Facility on Saturday.

Sen. Will Espero, chairman of the Senate Public Safety Committee, said there are concerns about the Maui prison because of overcrowding.

A 2005 report said the facility was designed for 209 and had a population of 370. The Legislature has appropriated nearly $40 million for a new community correctional facility on Maui, but the money has not been spent, Espero said.

"We really will need to get direction from the governor," Espero said.

Lingle last year announced that she was unable to gain public acceptance of any new prison sites and that the state would continue to use mainland facilities for offenders.

The state has just started consolidating Hawaii prisoners at a privately run prison in Arizona. Espero said he thinks that while it will still be possible to move Hawaii's female felons back to Hawaii, the male prison population is likely to remain in the Arizona facility.

"Studies show that the women, especially those with young children or who are single mothers and caregivers, have a better chance at rehabilitation if they are close to their children," Espero said.

He estimated that about 200 female prisoners from Hawaii are now on the mainland.

"We have to make some sort of a policy decision because we are working to bring the women prisoners back," Espero said.

After the tour of the Maui facility, Espero and Rep. Cindy Evans, chairwoman of the House Public Safety Committee, will hold a public hearing at the Maui Economic Opportunity Family Living Center at 99 Mahalani St. in Wailuku from 2 to 4 p.m.

Espero said the hearing will include "an overview of prison conditions, the capacity and actual inmate population, and what staffing and capital improvements are needed."