Lingle wants
$2M for prisonsThe emergency funds would
be to house prisoners from
Hawaii on the mainland
A 5 percent jump in the number of prison inmates is prompting the Lingle administration to ask for an emergency $2 million appropriation to house prisoners on the mainland.
The number of inmates in the Hawaii prison system is increasing, according to John Peyton, state director of public safety.
Star-Bulletin Legislature Database
Star-Bulletin Legislature Guide
(PDF, 2.4 MB)
State Legislature: Bills
& Hawaii Revised Statutes
He noted in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday that the prison population has grown to 4,123 from 3,931 last year. That number includes 1,200 Hawaii prisoners already in prisons in Oklahoma and New Mexico.
The average cost to incarcerate an inmate on the mainland is $56 a day, according to Peyton. He said it costs twice that to house and care for a prisoner in Hawaii prisons.
The total state Public Safety Department budget this year is $152 million.
"Although adding bunks to dormitories in minimum-security housing accommodated some of the excess inmates, most of those who require a higher level of security were forced to sleep on mattresses placed on the floor of existing cells or day rooms," Peyton said.
In September last year, for instance, the state had 285 inmates sleeping on mats on cell floors, Peyton said.
He noted that while Hawaii arrest rates are down, the state is actually receiving more prisoners as prosecutors take more cases to trial and more convicted felons are receiving jail terms.
Kat Brady, coordinator for the Community Alliance on Prisons, testified against the increased appropriation, saying that prison overcrowding is better served by the early release of nonviolent offenders.
"Any request for additional funds should be used to support more treatment and work furlough programs for men and women on all our islands," Brady said.
Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, Judiciary Committee chairwoman, said a decision on the emergency appropriation would be made tomorrow, but she agreed that something needs to be done to address prison overcrowding.
"I haven't heard an outcry among my colleagues that we have to do something, and for the public it is not on the front burner for many people," Hanabusa (D, Nanakuli-Makua) said. "But my concern is we could be facing federal court action unless we can show that we are addressing overcrowding."
