Hawaii is at a crossroads. Lawmakers must make a critical decision about public safety and fiscal responsibility: spend $1 billion on a new jail to replace Oahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) or implement more cost-effective solutions that address the real issues at the heart of the crisis we see on our streets.
Our criminal justice issues are primarily driven by an affordable housing and public health crisis.
Currently, at least 40% of people in Hawaii’s jails are homeless and many more are suffering from mental illness and substance addiction. Around 60% of the jail population are held pretrial, many because they cannot afford bail set as low as $50.
This is also an issue of racial justice — 30% of OCCC’s population is Native Hawaiian. Failures to make reform are disproportionately borne by Native Hawaiians.
Top officials at the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) have bluntly stated that our overcrowding problem is primarily driven by the fact that most people sitting in jail right now shouldn’t be there. They also say that locking up people with mental illness is the least effective, most expensive option.
Even our governor has acknowledged we cannot arrest and jail our way out of these problems.
In recent years, Hawaii’s key justice system actors — including police, prosecutors, public defenders, judges and service providers — have been convening to jointly identify ways to reduce incarceration. There’s clear consensus: diversion to housing and services will significantly reduce the jail population and recidivism, not to mention save millions in taxpayer dollars.
Unfortunately, this robust mandate is currently falling far short due to severe underfunding of diversion infrastructure in Hawaii. “Divert to where?” is a common refrain by law enforcement and judges.
Instead of an unnecessary new $1 billion superjail, the state must prioritize investing in a historic expansion of community-based treatment and supportive housing.
We also need big investments in the diversion workforce. For example, Hawaii island has just one staff member conducting daily cell block assessments for diversion, leaving Kona completely neglected.
It costs $112,000 per year to incarcerate one adult in Hawaii. Compare this to $30,000 a year to provide someone with supportive housing with wrap-around services including mental health.
By investing in services like supportive housing, we can improve rehabilitation. According to local nonprofit Partners in Care, the recidivism rate is only 13% for people who receive supportive housing versus 50% for those who do not.
Simply put, the state cannot afford both a $1 billion jail and adequate diversion infrastructure. The notion that jails will somehow become centers of rehabilitation while systematic diversion remains unfunded is fundamentally flawed.
More affordable alternatives exist. Fulton County in Georgia recently abandoned plans for a similar $1.7 billion jail project, choosing instead to renovate its existing facility for $300 million. Hawaii could pursue a similar path, either renovating OCCC by building a smaller facility at its current site or a Community Diversion Center that will help people actually solve the problems that bring them to court.
The Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission recently sent a letter to Gov. Josh Green calling for a pause in jail planning, citing serious concerns about DCR’s record of ignoring its recommendations to address deficient rehabilitative programming and health care. The commission stated that a new facility alone will not fix these systemic issues.
In short, we should not entrust a billion dollars of taxpayer money to a department that refuses to accept oversight, and has already spent millions planning a jail that is unsuited for rehabilitation.
Pausing the DCR’s current plan doesn’t mean we stop progress — it means refocusing on what will actually help: reducing the jail population through diversion and bail reform.
We must invest in evidence-backed solutions rather than repeat failed approaches that are ineffective and reduce our ability to enact meaningful reforms moving into the future. Now is the time to turn the page to a “care first, jails last” approach to public safety.
Full article at: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/03/03/editorial/island-voices/column...