Newsmaker




Monday, December 16, 1996

Name: Anthony Commendador
Age: 42
Position: Hawaii Paroling Authority administrator
Education: University of Hawaii, Chaminade
Pastimes: Surfing, diving, sailing

"That's really a small number, but it creates a lot of confusion," Hawaii Paroling Authority Administrator Anthony Commendador said. "What the public sees in news reports is a small percentage of the negative side of parole."

Unlike many other states, Hawaii's paroling system is working because local inmates have to earn paroles, Commendador said.

"They must do their time as set by the parole board plus have a good behavior record in prison," he added.

Commendador said what also contributes to criticism of the system is the policy of indeterminate sentencing.

"Some people wonder why someone sentenced by a judge to 10 years is out in five," Commendador said, "but they don't understand that the judge is only setting the maximum number of years that cannot be exceeded."

The parole board actually determines the length of sentencing, using established guidelines. It will set the minimum sentence that needs to be served before an inmate is eligible for parole.

"We're not releasing anyone early or letting people out on parole early," Commendador said. "Hawaii is in the upper 10 to 20 percent level nationally for long sentencing."

Just putting criminals behind bars isn't enough, Commendador said.

"Prison is a big void in a person's life," he added. "We're not at the beginning of anything, we're at the end of the system."

The system has to prepare inmates to function in the community by providing more programs that will help a criminal change his way of thinking.

Substance-abuse treatment programs also are important.

The availability and use of drugs is a factor in 90 percent of cases where people have returned to prison, he added.

Commendador has been the Paroling Authority administrator since July 1990. He grew up in Kalihi and Waianae before moving to Maui for his final year of high school.