State takes look around
at prisons on mainlandExisting contracts with private
prisons will expire in June
State prison officials toured two privately run prisons on the mainland last week, one for men and one for women, but are not negotiating to move Hawaii inmates there, said John Peyton, state public safety director.
Peyton said this week that the state is exploring options since its contracts to house Hawaii inmates in three other mainland prisons expire at the end of June.
Frank Lopez, state deputy director for corrections, said he and Security Coordinator Larry Patterson toured a men's prison in Mississippi and a women's facility in Colorado.
The men's prison in Tutwiler, Miss., is a 1,100-bed state facility operated by Corrections Corp. of America, the same company that runs the men's prisons in Oklahoma and Arizona that house Hawaii inmates. The women's prison in Brush, Colo., was a vacant state youth facility until last year. It has a 248-bed capacity and is operated by GRW Corp.
"We're just trying to get the best possible deal for the inmates and the state," Lopez said.
As of March 8 there were 796 male inmates from Hawaii in Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Okla., and 485 in Florence Correctional Center in Florence, Ariz., Lopez said. He said there were 51 female inmates from Hawaii in the state-run Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud, Okla.
In Hawaii there were 4,220 inmates in state facilities and 38 in the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu.
One of the options the state is exploring is to renew the current agreements and keep the inmates where they are, Lopez said.
Peyton said the state sent out requests for proposals this week but has yet to receive responses.
The state pays $53 a day for each male inmate on the mainland, $48 a day for each female inmate in Oklahoma and $93 a day per inmate at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu, Lopez said.