Lingle taps deputy AG
as public safety chief

Rick Bissen becomes acting director
of the division on Dec. 1

Rick Bissen, the first deputy in the state attorney general's office, has been named acting director of the Department of Public Safety by Gov. Linda Lingle.

He will replace John Peyton, who is resigning to return to Bosnia to work with the new government of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bissen's appointment begins Dec. 1. The governor's office said a search would be conducted for Peyton's permanent replacement, who would have to be approved by the state Senate.

As public safety director, Bissen will be in charge of the state's corrections division, including state prisons and community correctional facilities, as well as the law enforcement division, including the narcotics, protective services and sheriffs divisions.

"Rick is well respected in the legal and law enforcement communities. He is a skilled manager and has a proven record of working collaboratively with state, local and federal organizations," Lingle said in a release yesterday.

Among Bissen's duties as first deputy attorney general were overseeing reforms at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility and working with the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii and the Justice Department to address concerns about problems there, Lingle's office said.

Reform efforts began in August 2003 after the ACLU alleged that teenagers were being kept in abusive, unsanitary and overcrowded conditions at the Kailua lockup.

The U.S. Justice Department started an investigation into the allegations in August.

Although the state has touted its efforts at reducing the overall population at the youth prison, the ACLU has said a preliminary inspection by the Justice Department supported its argument that little has been done to correct the alleged abusive conditions.

Lois Perrin, legal director for the ACLU in Hawaii, said yesterday the group will continue working with the state to bring about reforms at the youth prison and that it looks forward to working with Bissen in his new position.

"We hope that (Bissen's move) will not negatively impact the progress on reforming conditions at the youth facility," Perrin said.

Bissen had been Maui prosecuting attorney before joining the state attorney general's office and had been a partner with Cardoza, Fukuoka & Bissen. He is a graduate of the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law and the University of Santa Clara.