Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: God.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Is Judge groaning, huh?
R. Mark Browning: Yes. Yes, right there.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Aloha! Good morning, everyone.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Welcome to today's meeting of the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And, the opening of the new year.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So I hope everybody, is excited about 2026 and what it brings for us, and we can let go of 2025, if that's possible. But if not, we're going to continue on and do what we do.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Commission, everyone here, and look forward to a positive year.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And last year was positive, wasn't it, Christian? Yeah, it was a good year for the Oversight Commission. So…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: With that being said, I call this meeting to order at this time.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I'll do a quick roll call. Judge Browning?
R. Mark Browning: Here.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Dutch tone? Yep. Dudge Ibarra? Here.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Martha? Here. And me. If all commissions are present, Judge Browning is online, and so the roll call, we're good. I'll take a motion to approve the minutes of the December 11, 2025 meeting. So moved. Second.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: It's been moved by Judge Towne, seconded by Ms. Tornay, that, the minutes… You call me honorable. Oh, honorable, that's the one. Yeah, honorable, December 11th, Thursday, December 11th, minutes.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: be accepted at this time. Is there any discussion?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Aye.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: All of Paul, same.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Motion carried.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, everyone, on that.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Look at item number… 4… Chris?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: We're, we're just announcing right now that,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: the new, logo that the, commission staff has put together,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Can they see it? Oh, there it is. It's up there. For those of you who are online, you can see the new,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: logo that we, that will be appearing on our letterheads. Letterheads and all of our,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: communications and however we present the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Just a little bit about our…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Christine had done her research and talked to a lot of people, and we put this together, just to give us a visual of who we are and what we do.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Many of you may be familiar with the law of the splintered paddle.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, a long time ago,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: If you're keeping up with your episodes of Chief of War. Thank you, Jason.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Kamehameha, in his conquest of the Big Island.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: His, him and his, warriors were chasing some villagers.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And two of the villagers had stayed back to help their… Fellow villagers in their retreat.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Kamehameha's foot got stuck in the, in a crack in the reef, or in the lava, and the two fishermen attacked him and hit him over the head with a paddle, splintering the paddle.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And they could have killed him, but they didn't, and they, they ran away.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Later on, after Kamehameha consolidated his authority on that island, the fishermen were found and brought to him, and they were expected to be punished, and Kamehameha did not punish them.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: He said they were merely defending their families.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, and that, from that point on, he made a law saying that all people in Hawaii, under his rule, during his rule, will be safe from any type of harm.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, and so that became known as the law of the Splintered paddle. Yeah.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And so we kind of looked at that as we were looking at two paddles to signify the journey that we are on as a commission to provide safety, or better safety for the community.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: within our correctional systems, I thought about that
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: story of Kamehameha and the splintered paddle, and so that's why we have one paddle and then one splintered paddle, to remind us of Kamehameha's Law of all people in the community.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: commoners, should feel safe where they are, yeah. The braided, tea leaf that you see around in the logo
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: When we,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: When Kristen first came to Hawaii, we had a ceremony for her at St. Andrews, right across the street, and many of our,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: women and men who were, in reentry at the time were there to greet her and welcome her to Hawaii.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And we did a ceremony where we braided tea leaf.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah. The Pua Pua Foundation, many of them were working with the Pua Foundation, was there as well, with Tony Bisson, and we braided the tea leaf, and we was telling Christian how sacred the tea leaf was to the Hawaiian people.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: In many aspects, and that what we're trying to accomplish here, as we braided the tea leaf in front of her, or with her, was that, we are… she is here to help weave the many components of our communities together to strengthen us.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, and that, this will be a reminder to her
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: first day here in Hawaii, or on the job, that your job here is to weave us together and to help us in our endeavors for safety, and to help people return back to their families and to their communities. And so I think she still has that…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Did you still have it? Yeah. Yeah, she still has it over her desk, you know, to remind her of that significant day. I think Martha, you was there. Yeah. Yeah, Martha was there. I believe one of the ladies who catered the event was also formerly incarcerated, so there was a good event that we had at that time, so that's a reminder to… for us to understand our role as a commission.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: To weave together the many components of community in our endeavors to do our mandate. So that's our new logo out there, everyone.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Bye-bye.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: We'll continually talk about it as we move forward, but we just wanted to introduce you to our logo and our purpose, and tying it in together. Anything you want to say, Kristen?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: No? Okay. All right, everyone, let's, move on to, item number 5.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: The announcement of the release of our annual report.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Great, everyone, so our 2025 annual report can be found on our public website, and George, if you don't mind putting a link into the chat so people can see it. But basically, this has been a very large year, for the Commission, and
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Much of that reason is because we were able to grow our team in really significant ways. We were able to hire two new investigators, which we've never had before, one for the jails, one for the prisons, and so for us to really get a hold on
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: you know, diving into our investigative processes and creating policies and procedures in the case management system and, you know, really starting to start dive into this huge backlog of cases that we have, has been monumental for us. We were able to start digging more into deaths in custody, and so…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: What the annual report covers is, of course, a basic introduction, where you can meet the commissioners and the staff. It covers, how many public reports we've had, where to find all that information, all of our meetings, and then it also covers death and custody by ethnicity, age.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Facility and length of stay in months, classification and custody status, and then also the description of each individual death.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: In 2025, we had 16. And so, this is kind of a brief preview of what many of our priorities will be for this upcoming year, with really digging into more of that data.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: But we also covered, how the Commission has been in the media, our facility tours, whether it be general facility tours or more, specific or, like, special tours, our events that we've attended, our facility-specific issues, where we break down each facility, what we're seeing, what our concerns are. We covered conferences, whether it be local or national.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And then also, legislative priorities, legislation, and then looking into 2026 and beyond. A part of that was updating our strategic priorities for reentry, which I'll talk about in just a second. But also, you know, looking forward, again, for 2026,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: It's really going to be a focus on our investigative processes, and so again, you know, getting into all these facilities, speaking to people on a one-on-one individual basis, getting into this backlog of cases.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And then continuing our commitment to really overseeing reentry, overseeing the movement throughout the system, or the lack thereof. And so we're really, really proud of the work that we have done in the past year, and we hope… we hope you are, too.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: For the reentry oversight Strategic Plan, just some
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: just a brief overview. So in 2023, we released our first strategic plan that was really specific to how we're going to oversee reentry. And that strategic plan really helped us put together our Hawaii Mal report, which we released last year, which really covered the current state of reentry, in the state of Hawaii.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: In 2025, we hired our first reentry oversight specialist, whose work was informed by not only her lived experience as a formerly incarcerated individual, but also as a Native Hawaiian. And so, we really wanted her to take her perspective and her critical insight and her realities of reentry, and really incorporate it into the plan. And so, with that said.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: the 2023's plan was updated to really intentionally reflect cultural importance, lived experience of those in custody, and also equity in reentry. And so, when you go through the plan, I think, I think it'll speak for itself, but I'm really, really proud of what our reentry oversight specialist, Kimmy Takata, was able to put together.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I think it's going to put us on a great track as we continue that work in reentry oversight, and so that, strategic plan is also on our website. You can… you can check it out at any time. And as always, if you have any questions or comments or concerns for us, you can always
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Reach out.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: to us.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Good.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you. That's,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Was there any comment from the public on the annual report as, presented by Kristen at this time? Or the entry report. Or the reentry report?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Nope. Thomas, I do want to say something.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, Commissioners, any, comments?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Mark? Go ahead. I would like to address in the reentry report on page 8, it talks about the population limits. This is one part of the law. We are required to establish maximum
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: inmate population limits for each correctional facility and formulate policies and procedures to prevent the inmate population from exceeding the capacity of each correctional facility. The department embarked on that in 2000 and 2001, and I was the person assigned to come up with those limits. I was trained by,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Curtis Pulitzer in how to do it, and then I did the analysis. I worked very closely, like, with the Board of Water Supply, Hawaiian Electric, and others, and then the operation managers for each of the facilities. What we look at and what we include, our 2001 report is on the website, our website.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: It required us to understand, is there enough water coming into the facility? Is there enough sewer capacity?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: We have expanded, since that report, two areas just recently. One is a very large new housing at the woman's facility, and the second is new housing at HCCC. And, I have informed Kristen that I would help come up with those capacities, but they're going to be very limited, because really all we can look at is the space available and compare it to American Correctional Association.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: on, principles in how we should be using this space. I will not be able to assess
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: the support services that are needed, so I don't know whether the addition to HCCC actually has the ability, through electricity, through sewer and water, to support that new unit. So, we're hoping to get, eventually, some funds from the legislature that we can once again hire a company to come in and do the analysis for us.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: But unfortunately, we have been limited because we don't really have the capacity right now to do a complete one. So we will be doing a very limited analysis.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And hope in the future that we'll have a good analysis of population limits and reestablish them.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: For the facilities. Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Any other comments, Commissioners?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, hearing none, we'll move on to, item number 6 on the, agenda.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Good morning, Sana. Are you there?
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): Good morning.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I mean, Johnson's, was not able to be here today, so, we have Sana Munoz, Deputy Director of Rehabilitation, with us this morning. Morning, Sana.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): Good morning, everybody. Happy New Year. I just have a few short,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: New Year.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): And that's just regarding the upcoming events. On January… sorry, today at Kulani, there is a substance abuse outpatient graduation occurring for 12 graduates at Wayava on…
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): January 16th, there's an Inside Out Dad, and 7 Habits on the Inside graduation. We also have an Intensive Outpatient graduation on January 23rd, and the Cashbox Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program graduation on January 30th.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): That's all they have.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: We'll have a comment.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay. Audience first. Public comment is open for anything on the agenda regarding to DCR and the report at this time.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Help me on now, George.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Seeing no comment at this time from the public, I'll close that. Testimony. Commissioners, any discussion? Yeah, I have a question for Sana.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Ano, this is Ron Ibarra. You know, I would hope that you folks are sending invitations to the Commission as a whole, so that we can support you folks at these events.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: You know, I know I live on the Big Island, and you have events
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: going on at HCCC, and I would gladly drive the 85 miles one way to attend to support you folks, so if you would be kind enough to provide notice of these events, I'm sure not only on the Big Island, but throughout the state, so the Commission can decide whether, you know, we should attend or not.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): I appreciate that, Judge.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: comment. Yes.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): We'll make sure we do that.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Asana, it was in the news that, Tommy Johnson discussed that at the new facility that, is being planned, that they are now eliminating the community-based housing, and instead are going to expand Laumaca.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I would like some more information on that, because one thing that I was very pleased to see in expanding the community beds
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: was that Tommy was considering parole violators and probation violators to be able to enter those beds also, not just sentenced felons exiting the system. So could you comment on the, decision to remove it from the planning process and instead focus on La Maka?
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): Hi, Martha. I'm not sure if we wanna… do you wanna… you want me to respond to that right now, or you wanna do the OCCC, new jail presentation first?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Is there gonna be a new jail presentation? Yes. Oh, okay, I'll wait for that. I'll wait for that. Thank you.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: as the first commission meeting, Sana, I guess this is more of a comment.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Or requests at the same time.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: We're about…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: a week and a half away from the opening of the legislative session, and it would be good to know,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: DCR's plans for proposed bills or their budget, and how we can help or assist you folks in your,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: your goals.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: In this legislative session, we haven't heard anything that you folks are asking for in regards of bills and budget, and if you will need our assistance in testimony, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yep.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So if you can relay the message to Tommy on, any kind of that information about, how we do… how can we be of support to the DCR in the upcoming legislative session in regards to your budget and the bills that you are presenting. Thank you.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): Oh, thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, so now the presentation. Yeah.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, we can go ahead with the presentation.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, so I just,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I just wanted to introduce, and I hope that I say your names correctly, please correct me if I get these wrong, but Chris Gadosh and also Bettina Maynard, they're from Architects Hawaii Limited, also known as
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: AHL, and they'll be presenting today on past planning, current state, and future planning of the new Oahu Community Correctional Center, also known as New OCCC.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: They are… Fabulous,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: at what they do in general, and I really appreciate them just taking the time today to really go through the history and where we are now, and for the future. I just… I did want to know a couple of brief things that…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: their presentation's gonna be thorough, and I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of questions. When we open up for public comment, we just wanted to remind the public that your questions are actually supposed to be towards the Commission, and so not AHL. Once we close public comment, then the commissioners will have the opportunity to ask more questions, or look for more clarity, or have discussions in general.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: But that's kind of, the structure of the meetings in accordance to the Sunshine Law, so I just wanted to remind everybody of that. But again, thank you both so much for taking the time and being here, and we're really looking forward to the presentation.
Hoku5: Thank you very much for that, introduction. Good morning, everybody, Chair Patterson, members of the Commission, Kristen, and members of the public.
Hoku5: My name is Bettina Maynard, and I am the principal in charge of the design team.
Hoku5: We appreciate the opportunity to, present.
Hoku5: An overview of the new O'ahu Trail project.
Hoku5: I've always considered it a privilege to work on this project, so thank you. In the next 18 or so minutes, we will give a brief recap of where we started.
Hoku5: How far this project has come, and where we are right now.
Hoku5: And…
Hoku5: While it might be redundant, given today's audience, this slide here is important because it reminds us that the jail and the prison are two very different facility types.
Hoku5: OCCC is a jail, and that houses individuals who were arrested, who are awaiting sentencing, or have been sentenced for minor crimes.
Hoku5: And in the state of Hawaii, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, DCR,
Hoku5: Operates both jails and prisons under a unified system.
Hoku5: OCCC's history spans over 100 years and dates to 1916 on its current site in Kalihi.
Hoku5: And in 1998, so already over 20 years ago, the Hawaii's Corrections Master Plan highlighted the need to replace OCCC,
Hoku5: And then 5 years later, in 2003, the Corrections Master Plan update reiterated that need to replace the facility.
Hoku5: So OCCC is old.
Hoku5: And most of the facilities in Hawaii are.
Hoku5: OCCC's replacement represents the largest public works project in the state of Hawaii.
Hoku5: As it relates to prisons and jails.
Hoku5: There's a universal agreement that the current facility is antiquated.
Hoku5: It is dilapidated, and it is obsolete.
Hoku5: As a result, it is costly to maintain and operate, and as a detention facility, it's not adequate, or frankly.
Hoku5: even appropriate to house and assist inmates. I'd like to highlight four main points.
Hoku5: The new facility will allow us to better
Hoku5: And frankly, more appropriately, address detainees with special needs.
Hoku5: Including those with medical and mental health needs.
Hoku5: It will… it will allow those who require protective as well as maximum custody to be housed separately from the general population.
Hoku5: And a new building will not only greatly improve the living conditions of the inmates, but it will provide a more secure and efficient work environment for corrections staff.
Hoku5: And then lastly, it will provide an environment where the focus is on better preparing inmates for successful reintegration into the community.
Hoku5: I should note here that the replacement of OCCC required the expansion of WCCC in Kailua.
Hoku5: That was completed in January of last year.
Hoku5: As a female population is now housed entirely in Kailua.
Hoku5: The intent is to provide better gender-specific services.
Hoku5: So, in essence, the new facility
Hoku5: Aims to improve physical, social, and therapeutic environments to inmates.
Hoku5: It will improve working conditions and safety for employees.
Hoku5: It seeks to increase community partnership for programs and
Hoku5: volunteer organizations. And it will provide better visitation experience for family members and friends.
Hoku5: In regards to the building, the new facility means a reduction of repair and maintenance needs.
Hoku5: And therefore, A substantial increase in operational efficiency.
Hoku5: Ultimately The new jail will serve as a catalyst for improving the correctional infrastructure in our state.
Hoku5: Now, let's look at the, three phases that this project, has been going through.
Hoku5: In the four decades-long effort to replace this facility, no other team has been able to advance the replacement effort
Hoku5: As much as we all have.
Hoku5: So let's look at where we've been. Here are some highlights of the first phase.
Hoku5: 12 potential sites for the new jail were identified and evaluated based on Criteria, such as
Hoku5: Such as existing infrastructure, Proximity to courts and other facilities, such as medical.
Hoku5: Community services and support, that includes acceptance.
Hoku5: Land ownership, property acquisition needs, site topography, You get the idea.
Hoku5: The current animal quarantine station site emerged as the preferred option.
Hoku5: So part of the planning progress, or process, sorry, was the application for PRU.
Hoku5: A PRU is short for Plan Review Use.
Hoku5: It's a city zoning designation for projects that need special review, and those include hospitals, prisons, jails.
Hoku5: It requires the submission of detailed master plans.
Hoku5: Covering future expansion, density, landscape, and what.
Hoku5: The PRU for the new O'ahu Jail was approved by the City Council in 2020.
Hoku5: So here is a Google Earth image of the old animal quarantine station site. The red arrow to the left shows the point of entry.
Hoku5: To the left of the H3 overpass.
Hoku5: our various state buildings, such as DOH and a wastewater treatment facility, and a DLNR maintenance facility. And the red outline indicates the area that's to be used for redevelopment.
Hoku5: This here is a different view of the site showing zoning details. Most of the site is zoned for industrial use.
Hoku5: And there's some residential. So the pink is the industrial, the light yellow is the residential. Maximum height on our side is 90 feet.
Hoku5: The setback on all sides, front, back, and the sides, is 50 feet.
Hoku5: Here's another view of our site. This one shows existing uses.
Hoku5: The site houses animal quarantine enclosures and facilities, large parking lots, and various other uses, including the Sheriff's K-9 unit.
Hoku5: The majority of the kennels that you see on the… towards the bottom of the site will be demolished as they not have been in use for many years.
Hoku5: There's a large animal holding facility, which will remain.
Hoku5: However, for the new jail to start construction, the current animal quarantine office building will need to be relocated.
Hoku5: That project is independently designed and funded.
Hoku5: Its new location will be on the other side of the H3 freeway, in closer proximity of other animal quarantine station buildings.
Hoku5: Also, part of Phase 1 was starting the development of population forecasts.
Hoku5: The first forecast was done in 2016 for a 10-year period.
Hoku5: Scheduled second report was done 5 years later.
Hoku5: The 2021 forecast update showed the need for 1,012 beds for male detainees by 2024, and then declining.
Hoku5: By over 100 beds within the next 8 years, which takes you to 2032.
Hoku5: A note here.
Hoku5: Ongoing discussions and calls for bail reform might ultimately reduce the overall size of the facility.
Hoku5: But it does not eliminate the need for it.
Hoku5: And as you can see, we are not expanding the number of beds.
Hoku5: The population forecast will be updated again during the design phase to ensure that Hawaii develops the facility that best meets its needs.
Hoku5: This is also evidence that opportunities to review and revise the plan for OCCC will continue to occur throughout the design phases.
Hoku5: The new O'ahu Jail needs to accommodate widely divergent populations.
Hoku5: And they fall into rated and non-rated categories, as well as various types of medical bills.
Hoku5: The point of this slide is that a well-functioning facility has more than one bed type per inmate.
Hoku5: Which, therefore, is not 100% occupied at all times.
Hoku5: Phase 2.
Hoku5: That started in 2020, and took about 4 years to complete.
Hoku5: During this phase, we updated the forecasts, the programs, and we undertook more detailed engineering studies.
Hoku5: We also, for the first time.
Hoku5: Reached out to the development community to test the appetite for this type of project.
Hoku5: Phase 2 accomplishments, I want to point out…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Even with.
Hoku5: the following year.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: There's excess stuff on the screen.
Hoku5: There's X.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: This screen was being blocked a little bit by some excess stuff. I'm just asking George to get rid of it. Okay, it's back.
Hoku5: Great, thank you.
Hoku5: I'd like to point out that since 2016, we have presented at every IAR Neighborhood Board, as well as IAR Community Association meeting.
Hoku5: We've had two island-wide town hall meetings.
Hoku5: We have a dedicated OCCC website with all of the public outreach material, all the technical reports available for download.
Hoku5: We so far, published 62 newsletters, which are distributed to over 1,800 stakeholders.
Hoku5: And those are elected officials, these are agencies, public entities, development professionals, and frankly, just about any individual that expresses interest in, this project.
Hoku5: And lastly, there have been several opinion editorials and media interviews, most recently, by DCR Director Tommy Johnson.
Hoku5: Phase 3. This is where we currently are.
Hoku5: Our team was fortunate to have been selected for the third phase of this project.
Hoku5: Since then, our engineering partners are focused on site-specific issues. The team reconfirmed the programming with the new DCR leadership, and we have completed the conceptual design phases.
Hoku5: So… Currently, we are in the schematic design phase.
Hoku5: We have completed a value-for-money analysis, which ensures The financial implications are clear.
Hoku5: This report is also important as it reminds us of the value of the proposed P3 delivery method.
Hoku5: And more on that in a minute.
Hoku5: our team.
Hoku5: which includes DAGS, DCR, AHL, and its consultants.
Hoku5: attended four ACA conferences to gauge developer interest and answer questions.
Hoku5: Here at home, we continue our community outreach and engagement.
Hoku5: This project, team published the OCCC newsletter. What you see here is newsletter number 62. In 2025, we published 5 newsletters. We are now working on number 63.
Hoku5: Earlier in 2025,
Hoku5: Warden Schell, as well as you, Krista, who were invited to a roundtable discussion with PBS Insights about the new Oahu Jail.
Hoku5: Topics discussed included current conditions at the jail, mental health resources, the selected site.
Hoku5: DCR staff health and wellness, maintenance expectations of a jail, and community involvement. You can check out the video on PBS or YouTube.
Hoku5: The ACA conferences, the American Correctional Association events, are held twice a year. We have been attending those for the past two years.
Hoku5: This is the leading national conference on corrections across America.
Hoku5: Events like this are used to connect with the development industry and gauge interest in developing a jail like ours.
Hoku5: Incidentally, Our project was selected as one of the top six projects to watch in the year 2025.
Hoku5: Something to be quite proud of.
Hoku5: This past holiday season, DCR and the new O'ahu Jail Team participated in the IEA Holiday Parade and Fun Fair. Warden Schell and other DCR employees were part of the parade.
Hoku5: We had a tent with DCR spreading awareness of the new jail.
Hoku5: Pivoting a little bit here.
Hoku5: There are costs associated with not moving forward. Essentially, it's the cost of doing nothing.
Hoku5: The building itself is old and decrepit, but so are its components, which include mechanical systems and security systems.
Hoku5: So to remain operational, they need to be maintained and eventually replaced.
Hoku5: Which is extremely costly.
Hoku5: The current facility has struggled with employee morale and attendance before the pandemic, and staff shortages are chronic.
Hoku5: A safer as well as a healthier work environment will decrease staff turnover.
Hoku5: And it might even become a recruiting tool.
Hoku5: All of this amounts to an economic and a humanitarian cost.
Hoku5: Estimated construction cost in 2018 was $525 million.
Hoku5: That price did include… did include…
Hoku5: The cost of construction of the new animal quarantine station as well.
Hoku5: The current cost index for Honolulu is at 4.6% escalation. It's the second highest in the nation. If you're curious, Washington, D.C. is at the top with 8.8%.
Hoku5: At that rate, the cost of doing nothing
Hoku5: essentially waiting, will add over $20 million to the price tag of the facility annually.
Hoku5: That assumes that the escalation rate does not increase.
Hoku5: On a side note, the business case analysis, which was completed during the first phase in March of 2021,
Hoku5: Anticipated a cost escalation of 6%, which translates into $31.5 million annually.
Hoku5: The next cost estimate was completed in mid-2023, coming in over $900 million, at $937 million.
Hoku5: Lastly, OCCC is currently located on parcels with significant economic development value in an opportunity zone.
Hoku5: Development of that area will, without question, lead to significant tax revenues, not to mention the vitality to the neighborhood that comes
Hoku5: With economic revitalization.
Hoku5: Part of our outreach has been about the procurement method. The photos here are of our team presenting to the Hawaii legislature.
Hoku5: And speaking of procurement, Governor Ige announced that the project was expected to move forward as a P3, a private-public partnership.
Hoku5: The delivery model is a design.
Hoku5: Build, finance, maintain model.
Hoku5: Here, a single team is hired to design, to build, and finance the entire project.
Hoku5: So over the life of the lease, money is paid back to the developer.
Hoku5: With the interest of the lease terms.
Hoku5: Maintenance of the building and its component is performed by a third party.
Hoku5: So it is important to point out that under any scenario, DCR and its staff will continue to operate and manage the facility and the population it houses.
Hoku5: It will never be a private.
Hoku5: facility.
Hoku5: This here is a conceptual rendering of the new O triplett C entrance. This is subject to change. This looks a lot more complete than it is.
Hoku5: The design team continues to move forward with the schematic design.
Hoku5: We are currently hosting, regularly scheduled workshops with DCR and DAGS and other user groups, user groups, to further develop the site and the facility.
Hoku5: As the workshops continue and the design is refined, we will be sharing more information on the status of the project. What you are seeing here is very hot off the press and the very latest rendering.
Hoku5: The project timeline. This is a scheduled scenario looking ahead.
Hoku5: It very broadly outlines the details of what is part of the next stage of the project.
Hoku5: In essence, the team would develop the bridging document that will be the foundation for the future developer's proposals.
Hoku5: It is anticipated that the project will receive approvals
Hoku5: To allow it to move forward.
Hoku5: In this case, project completion is currently anticipated to be in late 2031, or early 32.
Hoku5: And that concludes our update. Here is a link.
Hoku5: To, the project website.
Hoku5: I encourage everybody to please check it out regularly. It is… it is updated frequently. You also can see a video featuring the governor in support of our project on that site.
Hoku5: I thank you for… Allowing me… allowing us to present this project, and… I'm open to comments.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you so much, for that,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: report at this time. I'm gonna open it up for public comment. Just a reminder that we have a 2-minute,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: time limit on public testimony, and your remarks and your questions, please direct to ourselves. We will write them down, and we will…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: ask our questions as we discuss it as a commission. So at this time, I'm opening up the… for public test call.
Barbara Polk: Hello?
Barbara Polk: This is Barbara Polk.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: any gut?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, go ahead, Barbara.
Barbara Polk: Okay, I woke up this morning to an email from the
Barbara Polk: Council of State Governments Justice Center, and I am wondering whether the department or the members of the Council see this material. It's about the Reentry 2030
Barbara Polk: project.
Barbara Polk: I worry about the way the jail is being put together.
Barbara Polk: And I want to know whether it now will allow in-person visits to the people who are incarcerated there. Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Barbara.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Kat, good morning.
Kat Brady: Good morning, Commissioner.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: You're muted, Ken.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: We can hear you now. You're good.
Kat Brady: We can hear you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: at.
Kat Brady: Okay,
Kat Brady: Good morning, Commissioners and members of the public who've been deeply involved in this project. The first thing I'd like to point out is I find it disturbing that the new building
Kat Brady: will reduce maintenance. Well, we're in this mess because of lack of maintenance.
Kat Brady: And that is why all our facilities are in terrible shape.
Kat Brady: for lack of maintenance. So, to say this new building is going to improve public safety is kind of ridiculous, because a building is not going to improve public safety. Actually, training of the staff who works with people who are incarcerated, that is what actually improves public safety.
Kat Brady: So, when we think that the new building is just gonna solve all our problems, it's naive and expensive.
Kat Brady: The community has stepped forward in many, many ways to recommend things that we could do right now, because lots of the people who are in OCCC would be better served in community programs. And instead of
Kat Brady: Building this new thing.
Kat Brady: To say this is going to improve everything, that is, disrespectful of the community, and the department, for some reason, is very averse to actually meeting directly with the community. So what they did was they…
Kat Brady: I had a big contract with and came up with some really terrific ideas that are not represented in anything that was presented before. So that is a huge problem for us, and the community resents being the wallet that,
Kat Brady: Is gonna pay for all this with no real input.
Kat Brady: Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Kat.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Anyone else? Amanda Ferrendes?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Fernandez?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Ms. Fernandez?
Amanda Fernandes: Aloha, Kako. Good morning, Amanda Fernandez, on behalf of the ACLU of Hawaii. I was wondering if the Commission had a more exact breakdown of how the, tens of millions of dollars that have been requested by DCR over the last few years for the purpose of planning the new jail is going to be spent, and whether,
Amanda Fernandes: And the extent to which conversations already occurred with, potential contractors for the design, and financing of the facility.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Can you repeat some of that, Amanda? I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand you. I'm trying to listen.
Amanda Fernandes: Sure, no, I'm just… what I'm trying to get at is I'm wondering, if there are more specific breakdowns that you've received from DCR about how
Amanda Fernandes: the tens of millions of dollars for planning are going to be spent, like, where exactly those dollars are going, in the planning process. And then also, if you… if the commission, or DCR, to your knowledge, has already communicated with potential contractors, for the… for the, for the design and.
Amanda Fernandes: Financing and maintenance of the facility, and what the, what the content of that, of that communication has been.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you. Thank you, Amanda.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Anyone else?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Good morning.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Lauren Walker. Hi, Lauren.
Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice: Hi, how are you? Everyone, thank you.
Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice: Hi, yeah, Lauren Walker with Hawaii Friends of Restorative Justice. We would like to know, we would like to get, actually, we understand Tommy Johnson, he had testified at the legislature in the last couple years that,
Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice: engineering study was conducted that showed renovation of the current OCCC was impossible.
Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice: We would like to see this report, please.
Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice: And I understand the ACLU did make a FOIA request for it, and did not receive it.
Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice: So, could we get a copy of that report, please?
Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice: That shows that OCCC, where it is right now, cannot be renovated?
Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice: Thanks.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Lauren.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Good morning, Carrie Ann.
Carrie Ann Shirota: Hello, and good morning, Commissioners. I apologize, I'm off-camera. I am recovering from the flu. I'm speaking as a community member, also as an attorney. I'd just like to add some comments today.
Carrie Ann Shirota: And to follow up on what Lauren Walker just said, that to my knowledge and to the communities, there has been no alternative study
Carrie Ann Shirota: Excuse me, accessing the costs Associated with renovation or partial renovation at the current location.
Carrie Ann Shirota: Despite a public records request made previously by the ACL of Hawaii.
Carrie Ann Shirota: This has been a repeated request at legislative hearings, even in this meeting, nothing has ever been proffered. There's also no evidence that the Department of Corrections and State have invested in data-driven decarceration.
Carrie Ann Shirota: and diversion strategies to reduce the pretrial population, which is a driver of the population at OCCC.
Carrie Ann Shirota: We can learn lessons from both Maui and Kauai. They have reduced the pretrial population at both MCCC,
Carrie Ann Shirota: excuse me, and KCC. And of note, MCCC at one time was considered the most overpopulated, overcrowded jail in the state, and at one point, there was a push to build
Carrie Ann Shirota: a larger compound on Maui, and the community said, we want to invest in alternatives and community-driven programs. We can also look to lessons learned from decarcerating HYCF,
Carrie Ann Shirota: At one point, that facility was overcrowded. There were some segments of the community who thought we should just build a larger, expanded youth jail, prison.
Carrie Ann Shirota: community members, including Judge Browning and others, said, no, let's invest in data-driven strategies, cultural competency and lens, and we all know that that decarceration has been sustained and lessons learned from there. This is not about rehabilitation. This is about money.
Carrie Ann Shirota: And development of this area.
Carrie Ann Shirota: Because we should be looking at the site location. And last, this is very confusing to the community, because the governor, on one hand, is touting potentially the purchase of FDC, and this is simultaneously occurring. So what are actually the plans for the state? Thank you for the ability to provide comments.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Carrie Ann.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Not seeing any other, hands at this time. I'm gonna close the public testimony and open up discussion. Commissioners?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: on…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Chris and Bettina, I just want to ask if you have knowledge about this. The maintenance will be contracted out, is my understanding.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Is that correct?
Hoku5: That is correct.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: of the developer. Because what…
Hoku5: That is correct. I'm sorry, what was that, Bettina? That is correct.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I'm sorry to be hesitate.
Hoku5: because I wasn't sure whether, Sana, would want to answer, because I… I would follow her.
Hoku5: But yes, that is correct.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Well, that's… I just wanted to make it clear that maintenance will be contracted out, because as Kat brought up, the state of Hawaii is terrible at maintaining buildings. Not just correctional facilities, it's our schools, it's our offices, it's everything.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And so I want to know if you have any knowledge from your experience, how have these contracted maintenance
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: How have these maintenance contracts worked in other areas? Are they successful in maintaining the buildings?
Hoku5: Of course, my answer is yes, we do feel strongly about this, as there is a contractual obligation by the development team to maintain the building.
Hoku5: Part… part of the contract of… or the agreement of the state with the developer is
Hoku5: Agreement on the definition to the level of how this facility would,
Hoku5: need, or we want to, maintain. So, in essence, one could say.
Hoku5: At the end of the, let's say, 30 years lease term, the facility is in, in perfect condition.
Hoku5: Does that make sense? Does that answer your question correctly?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, it answered the question, thank you. And I hope they do a better job than the state does, because the state does not do a good job, as Kat brought up.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I also… can you expand by any chance? It really was Tommy's decision not to include the community-based beds anymore, and instead focus on expanding, La Maka. Do you have any knowledge as to what led to that decision?
Hoku5: There were… there were a couple of drivers to that, and Sana might want to join in, here as well.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): aren't…
Hoku5: one of the…
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): Go ahead.
Hoku5: one of the drivers is that Laumaka is existing in the Kalihi,
Hoku5: in the Kalihi neighborhood, and the Kalihi community has the infrastructure and the programs to serve, that community, and there is a tremendous value to that.
Hoku5: There has also been
Hoku5: some, pushback from the IEA community, who was not… who was unsure about transportation.
Hoku5: needs of those housed in the CTC, in their community.
Hoku5: So, it seemed to be the best decision. Sana, do you want to add anything to that?
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): That's correct, Bettina and Martha. The infrastructure is already present there with the water, sewer, and electrical.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): Yeah, you know, there's employment, and public transportation in that area. So we think that that will be, make the building much less expensive.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: The reason I'm bringing this up is the footprint for La Maka is fairly small.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And as I mentioned earlier, Tommy had talked about using the community-based beds for parole violators and probation violators so they could continue to work, which I like that idea very much.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So, if it's gonna be… and there was never any intention to give up Lumaca. That was gonna continue to be part of the department.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So, how would that be expanded on that small footprint to allow more people in the 96 beds, which is currently the capacity?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: That's my question.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): So, Martha, the… Donna, you have…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Any information on that?
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): Martha.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Go ahead, Sana.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): Sorry, I think I was… something was wrong with my mic earlier, but,
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): At this point in time, as you know, this is something that's relatively new, you know, change, so we're still in the planning phases, so we don't have much information to provide you at this time.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So I just want to express, that is a concern of mine, because I like the idea of having probationers, violators, and parole violators included in that. And personally, I do have some concern about P3, and it has to be how the state pays back that.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Because when we had… when we went for the bonds, all the paying of the bonds was held by budget and finance, and was not subjected… subjected to any budget reductions that may happen because of a difference in finances and taxes coming into the state.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Once we go into a P3, it will be… the money will be given to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to pay that bill. So just… this is just my personal concern, I don't expect an answer for this. I'm afraid that in the future, if there's a drop in the tax revenues, and states have to cut their budget by, like, 10%, 8%,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: that it…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: They can't cut the money they're going to be using, paying the mortgage on the facilities, and so it could affect programming. And that's just my personal think on that. I also want to correct one thing, Bettina, about the history.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: In the 1950s, none of the 1916 buildings were taken down. We continue to use those buildings until 1989, and in 1991, that old facility was destroyed. What happened in the 1950s is on the annex side, they had totally rebuilt the correctional industries.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: for furniture making.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Kulani was founded in 1946 for the purpose of being a logging camp for those correctional industries.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So, if you go up to Kalani, you can see this huge Quonset hut, one of the largest in the state, which was where they planed all the wood and stuff. So the wood was then shipped to Oahu. So I just want to make it clear, the 1916 facility was not taken down. It was used until 1989.
Hoku5: I appreciate that, thank you. We'll find a way of including, some of this in our… on our history slide. I appreciate it, thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I do have one historic document that talks about the founding of Kulani. It was the, 10-year report for the Department of Corrections, or the Department of Institutions from,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: 39 to 49, the first 10 years, and I think I have some other things. I used to be, like, the department historian, so I kept on looking up this stuff.
Hoku5: Oh, I'm very interested in it, thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, sure.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Commissioner, is there any other questions?
R. Mark Browning: Yes, I have some questions. Chair Patterson.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Go ahead, Judge Browning. I do too. Judge Browning.
R. Mark Browning: Ms. Bannerk, I want to thank you for your presentation. I thought it was an excellent presentation.
R. Mark Browning: And all the work that you've done, and I was wondering whether or not you could provide, the Commission with a copy of your PowerPoint. Is that possible?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yes, we have a judge.
R. Mark Browning: Okay, great.
R. Mark Browning: I also thought that the comments made by members of the public, were important comments and points that
R. Mark Browning: Need to be considered, and… thought about.
R. Mark Browning: I guess one of the questions that I specifically have is… you know…
R. Mark Browning: just so I understand, and I totally want to say that I don't have any expertise in this matter, so if my questions are stupid, please forgive me.
R. Mark Browning: The design of this particular facility that you're building, Is… is that designed…
R. Mark Browning: You folks are crea- have created, or are creating that design.
R. Mark Browning: based upon your interaction with… or your… the input that you've gotten from DCR and conversations with DAGS, is that correct?
Hoku5: That is part of it, absolutely. We, we are following DCR's, program. We have,
Hoku5: Yeah, this is… It's very important. We also…
Hoku5: I have a, a subject matter expert, if you will, on, correctional
Hoku5: facilities on our project. It's a large architecture firm, HOK. They are a consultant, they're an advisor to us. They are the leading global expert in correctional facilities. They're very.
Hoku5: Yeah, I think they're… they are the leader from our perspective. I mean, we've reached out to them. So we have insight into the, new technologies,
Hoku5: so we can… we can consider them. Whether we're implementing them or not is one thing, and then, we are discussing this in these workshops that I was referring to, with DCR,
Hoku5: and discuss if some of those are applicable, and which direction we wanted, go in some of those instances. So, yes, there's a lot of that discussion, and, it is driven by DCR.
R. Mark Browning: Right, so what you're saying is, is that basically DCR is directing the sort of input that you get that creates whatever the design is that's coming out of this process, is that correct?
Hoku5: The facility has to work for them.
Hoku5: Right.
R. Mark Browning: I understand.
R. Mark Browning: But the facility, you would agree, has to work for the community and state, correct?
Hoku5: That's correct.
R. Mark Browning: I mean, DCR is just a caretaker.
R. Mark Browning: It's not… it's the community, the citizens, the state of Hawaii, the taxpayers, who essentially own this facility and need this facility to be something that accomplishes
R. Mark Browning: the goals that we wanted to accomplish, right?
Hoku5: Yes, that is… it's both correct, yeah.
R. Mark Browning: Alright, so those goals would include… Rehabilitation.
R. Mark Browning: Reentry.
R. Mark Browning: All the various different things that go into mental health.
R. Mark Browning: Right?
Hoku5: That's correct.
R. Mark Browning: So, have you done an analysis of everything systemically that hasn't worked at OCCC?
Hoku5: we… We are dependent on the information that we're being given.
R. Mark Browning: Okay, so that's a no.
Hoku5: That is not a no. That is… it's… I'm kicking the answer to this question down the road a little bit, because…
Hoku5: It's a… it's a… it's a clear, yes, we have information, because…
Hoku5: we are… we continue to stress the importance of, even in this short presentation here, here I… I feel it's important to mention that we're, we have ways to work with those that have, mental needs.
Hoku5: And we.
R. Mark Browning: You see, you're asking me to take that on faith, and I don't… I appreciate what you're saying.
R. Mark Browning: And I really understand what you're saying, but I think what I'm trying to get to is the fact that as you make this design, as you create this design.
R. Mark Browning: What are the values that are we using?
R. Mark Browning: To reflect how this place is supposed to look.
R. Mark Browning: Secondly, you know, how, as I said, are we incorporating
R. Mark Browning: all the various different problems that exist through OCCC, and all the problems that exist through OCCC, some of it has to do with the building, but so much more of it has to do with the system, wouldn't you agree?
Hoku5: It would be wrong to focus on only one aspect of it. You're absolutely correct.
R. Mark Browning: Okay, so I appreciate that.
R. Mark Browning: So, I guess, how much have you done in terms of your analysis of what doesn't work at the system that could be corrected in some ways, by whatever, or be…
R. Mark Browning: We could eliminate some of that and make it better by some of the designs that,
R. Mark Browning: Changes that you make.
R. Mark Browning: proposed.
Hoku5: We… I… I strongly believe that the team that we have right now, and its openness to truly make a difference, to everybody that is touched by a facility like this,
Hoku5: it's indicative how far this project has come. We are… nothing's ever perfect, but the outreach, the involvement of the community.
Hoku5: We've spent…
Hoku5: two Monday nights and community meetings for the last 10 years, whether we had something to present on the project or not, to…
Hoku5: ensure that the… that the dialogue remains, you know, that… that the door is open, that the dialogue is… are we always having answers to all questions? No, but it…
Hoku5: it's important.
Hoku5: the feedback that we've gotten here today is very valuable. UHCDC, Cap Brady mentioned their report. Absolutely, we have… we are considering their feedback. DCR embraced portions of that,
Hoku5: of that feedback, of that report, and it is included in the design. So there… there's a…
Hoku5: There's… there's a lot going on.
Hoku5: And I'm… Yeah, I'm… I've been working on this project for 10 years, and it is…
Hoku5: probably a career-defining project, and because of this dialogue, because of the impact that we have on the people that we're serving in these facilities. And, there's a dedicated team
Hoku5: All around, bags, very much DCR, and then our design team, at its, you know, kind of lower
Hoku5: impact level, but we all want to do something really special here, and it's purely people-driven.
R. Mark Browning: Yeah, and I… I appreciate all the… I really do. I think you've done a wonderful job, and please don't,
R. Mark Browning: take my questions as critical of you professionally or personally. I'm trying to understand
R. Mark Browning: and my responsibility as a commissioner, sort of where we're headed, because, I mean, I think we all agree that this is a huge, huge, huge decision with monumental consequences to the state as a whole, depending upon what we decide.
R. Mark Browning: And how we proceed. I guess let me ask you a couple more questions, and then I'll let you go.
R. Mark Browning: Do you folks have… is there… a…
R. Mark Browning: For lack of a better term, Some sort of spec… philosophy about The design and the system
R. Mark Browning: As you think about how it's…
R. Mark Browning: It's created, or as you make your plans and recommendations.
R. Mark Browning: You know, as you go forward, I mean, let me give you an example. I mean, just in sort of an… as an eye… as a…
R. Mark Browning: When we went into my background.
R. Mark Browning: A lot of it has to do with Juvenile justice and family court.
R. Mark Browning: And as you know, we… the judiciary built a new Courthouse, still very… relatively mute.
R. Mark Browning: In contract comparison to the other courts.
R. Mark Browning: About 10 plus years ago, and part of that facility building now included, or did include, still includes, the detention home.
R. Mark Browning: Or Detention House, which is a pre-trial jail.
R. Mark Browning: For juveniles, or youth.
R. Mark Browning: To replace the one that was built in Aldistry.
R. Mark Browning: When they built that, They worked with DAGS,
R. Mark Browning: And they worked with another governmental entity.
R. Mark Browning: not with… The courts, or the judges?
R. Mark Browning: For those in the juvenile justice system.
R. Mark Browning: That had, perspectives.
R. Mark Browning: So, my point is that the end result was That they built a facility
R. Mark Browning: That was completely out of touch.
R. Mark Browning: completely unrealistic.
R. Mark Browning: For the needs of our community.
R. Mark Browning: And they built that.
R. Mark Browning: And it stays there and stands there, and is an impediment to juvenile justice reform and to the mental health.
R. Mark Browning: Of kids that are put in there.
R. Mark Browning: Because it looks like something out of Alcatraz, frankly.
R. Mark Browning: Now… I'm not saying that this is what you're doing. I'm saying my point is.
R. Mark Browning: Is this, I don't know.
R. Mark Browning: Because…
R. Mark Browning: One of the things I do know, and this is why I asked the question, is that facility was built with no sense of what that correctional philosophy, or judicial, or
R. Mark Browning: I'm just gonna say correctional philosophy should be that reflected the values that we held as a community as how we were going to deal and try to help kids.
R. Mark Browning: I don't hear a philosophy.
R. Mark Browning: In 1984, I want to refer you to this. 1984,
R. Mark Browning: Chair Patterson wrote a letter to the governor.
R. Mark Browning: Which laid out exactly what the position of the commission was, respective to the building of a new jail.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, 24.
R. Mark Browning: Was it 2024? I think it was. Yes. And that letter…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah.
R. Mark Browning: basically stated that we have to come up with a… whatever we build has to reflect the kind of system that we're going to value in input. And I'm putting it… I'm not saying it as well as he did, but that, in fact, is something I refer
R. Mark Browning: to you, to… to read.
R. Mark Browning: But I guess back to my question, and I'm sorry to be so long-winded, is what is it that is the philosophy here? Does the building design reflect that philosophy?
Hoku5: I think, short answer, yes.
Hoku5: There was a statement that, director Johnson made…
Hoku5: Oh, maybe a couple of years ago now, that…
Hoku5: I very much connected with, because he said that he intends, and I'm paraphrasing a little bit here, that he depends to… that he intends to put
Hoku5: in place, a facility that helps DCR with the paradigm shift
Hoku5: From what some people saw as punitive… punitive corrections
Hoku5: To a model that is more holistic, and restorative, and re-entry-focused.
Hoku5: That… that right there touches on… to me.
Hoku5: On so much of what this facility needs to do. And, you know, he continued to say.
Hoku5: that we have an opportunity here to change how corrections in the state of Hawaii is done moving forward, and
Hoku5: from the… from the facility point. I mean, I'm… you're talking to the architect here, architect here. It's a catalyst, it's a catalyst of what future,
Hoku5: Buildings.
Hoku5: my… might be. And to, it was so concise that, you know, it stuck with me.
Hoku5: Because we don't always have a client that is so… that is able to say, in so few words, the vision that he wants to,
Hoku5: see this building fulfill.
R. Mark Browning: And…
Hoku5: So I, I, I hope that this is answering, your questions, your question a little bit.
R. Mark Browning: Thank you so much, and thank you, Chair Patterson.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Mike.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I'm gonna try to be brief. Forgive me if I get a little excited here. The trend nationally is to do away with cash bail, because cash bail is transactional.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: It doesn't necessarily measure public safety. It measures the width of your wallet, or your pocketbook. A millionaire makes bail, some…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: houseless person can't even afford a dollar. So, Bettina, it's not on you, but we need to work together, the judges and the system, and the other thing that's happened, Bob Merce wrote a paper called Getting It Right. Have you read that, Bettina?
Hoku5: Absolutely.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, I think it's well done. I don't always agree with it, nor does he agree with me, but it's… I commend it. Maybe you can put it in the chat.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: But if we can get folks assessed early.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: use the least drastic means, which is the constitutional way of… we should look at all people coming into the system. Is there a less drastic way
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: then putting them in a facility like OCCC, or a jail or wherever it is, is really important. So the trend nationally, in California, New Jersey, elsewhere, is do away with cash bail.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Do you have any thoughts on cash bail?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Or is that not in your kuleana?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Sure.
Hoku5: It's,
Hoku5: Yes, as a person, I have, I have no opinion on it. It would be inappropriate for me to speak on behalf of the team on this right now. However.
Hoku5: I believe there is nobody on this call here that would disagree that we need to look at that.
Hoku5: There have been, legislative attempts to correct
Hoku5: the, you know, this whole bailed situation has been… there have been, I think it was 2 years ago when we had a large number of,
Hoku5: bill reform bills going through the legislature, it might have been a year before. And I was…
Hoku5: Okay, speaking as Bettina Maynard, the person, I was flabbergasted that, there was…
Hoku5: That they weren't… that they didn't make it all the way through.
Hoku5: I feel we cannot give up. We need to look at, chipping away at this. Back to my role on this project here.
Hoku5: We can only work with the rules, the laws, and the policies that are currently in place.
Hoku5: And… Yeah, there are… I think that says it, that are currently in place.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: You said it well. The problem is, we live in a world that's…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: overly criminalized, overly felonyized, and that we think the criminal justice system's gonna help someone. In fact, it hurts them. In a hospital, it's called iatrogenic disease, the harm caused by the care. That's why they don't want you to go into a hospital. That's why you go to a…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: you know, outpatient clinic. And it's the same thing here. I call it serogenic effect.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: People need not be in there. What are they gonna meet in… inside? They're gonna meet gangs, and trouble, and mischief, and… and
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And, unfortunately, fatalities. That's why we in this commission take very seriously any illness or death or… and particularly with our older inmates. So I've probably said too much already, but the bail thing
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: hops up, and I think, we had a shot at it, and it didn't work. I'd like to… I would like to take another shot at no cash bail, which measures your wallet.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you. That's it. Martha.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I just wanted to bring up, Bettina, you said that you were impressed with what Tommy had to say about wanting to abide by the new mandate for the DCR, but I think, unfortunately, his actions belay his statements.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Because for the sentenced felon population, Kulani continues to only have less than 50% of its beds filled, and Wayava only has 51% of the beds filled.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: In the neighbor islands, work furlough participation is very low. The last time we were in Maui, there were only two inmates participating in work furlough. So therefore, the new mandate requires re-entry as being a major part of the system. It ain't working.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So, again, I just said my piece. Good, thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I just want to say one thing very briefly. First of all, thank you both so much for, this presentation. I recognize that sometimes this can be a difficult space to come into and present, because a core part of oversight is pointing things out and saying things as they are.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: just point blank. And to Martha's point,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: you know, again, I'm really glad that it resonated with you that, you know, when the director says that what some people may see as a punitive system must be corrected.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I have a very different opinion on that. It's very concerning to me that anybody would define the system as what some people may see as
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: punitive.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: When you look at federal standards, when you look at other jurisdictions, when you look at best practices, our system is
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: punitive. There is no what other people may seem, and I think that when you… not you, personally, but I think when people use language to kind of
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: diminish where we are right now, like, what the truth in it is. I think it makes it very, very hard to concretely figure out where we need to go. And so, I say that to say that, again, like, as an oversight entity, one of our core jobs and missions
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: is to be very honest and very straightforward about where things are at right now, and also where they can go. And so, I just wanted to make a comment, and I feel very strongly that,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: You know, it's not…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: what people may see or what people may consider… know it is. Like, it truly is a punitive system, and I think that's why, you know, the community and commissioners and all these different stakeholders are so passionate when we're talking about massive, massive projects to try to make that shift and make that change, so…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I just wanted to comment on that, very briefly, but thank you both so much again for your time, your work, your effort. I realize this is a monumental project that's taken so long, and so I really appreciate, particularly you, Bettina, your dedication to this, and all of your work you've put into it.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And your competence and your dedication to this, I appreciate it.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I really appreciate… Thank you, Bettina.
Hoku5: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: It's 10.30 right now, I got a whole list of questions and whatnot, and I understand, Bettina, that you are the,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: the vendor for the state. And so, some of this is really for sauna, or most of it.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: What is the 2026 legislative ask for this project right now?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: There's no 2026 acts yet. 2025 acts.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: ask. What are you asking for in this? What are you asking for in this legislative session to continue the project that you are currently working on?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: In regards to the new OCCC jail.
Sanna Muñoz, Deputy Director-R (DCR): We're not asking for anything for the OCCC in this legislative session. We had the $15 million we got July 1st, and then the $15 million the upcoming July.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, so the second year of the biennium. Okay. Thank you, Sana. That was what we needed, thank you. 25 and 26…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Sana, we want to make another request for that engineer study… Yeah. …on the OCCC renovation, possibilities.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: on the engineer study that was stated by the public, we had asked once before for it, that stated that the OCCC renovations was impossible. We want you to,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: take down that we're asking for another report on that. And we understand this whole process in building a new jail is like a triangle, right? With DCR on the top, the planner, and DAGs. But you folks,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: are overseeing both DEGS and,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: The planner, so we're gonna ask you for these reports.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Has there been any alternative studies outside of the engineer's report or other studies on the operational integrity of OCCC? So that's another question right there.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I would like to see, if possible, all the legislative funding
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: that was giving over the last 3 decades that funded each of the phases that Bettina talked about. So she talked about 3 phases.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Two that have already been accomplished, and the third one that's currently been working on at this time.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Bettina, is there a working design?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: There was an RFP in previous meetings that we heard went out for design. Can someone update me on that?
Hoku5: D.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Hmm.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay.
Hoku5: There's…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, to design the actual facility.
Hoku5: So they're… We are designing the, facility right now, but it is a little bit, confusing.
Hoku5: To some degree, maybe, because a P3 is a different delivery model than method, than what we are, we meaning.
Hoku5: most of us in Hawaii are most familiar with. What the traditional methods are, are
Hoku5: design, bid, build. So there's an architect, and it's consultants that designs the facility. Then it goes out to bid. There's a bunch of contractors that say, I can build this for $10 million, and I can build this for $15 million.
Hoku5: And then the client makes up, you know, makes a decision, and a contractor builds it.
Hoku5: That's what we're… that's very traditional. Then there's the design, the design-build, where essentially the contractor's in charge, the architect is under that contractor,
Hoku5: that team
Hoku5: is, hired at the beginning. They design, they have the project, they have efficiencies, and they build it. So, one, one entity, really, for the entire process. What we're doing here is different.
Hoku5: there is our team here right now that is designing it. We're designing it to a certain point.
Hoku5: That… that point, gives just, enough information, or not that I should say this differently, that makes sure that the vision, of DCR for the project is in place. We have…
Hoku5: all the… all the places, all the, program spaces in there. We have this…
Hoku5: these plans can be used to… to build the project. However.
Hoku5: These are called bridging documents.
Hoku5: The, the development team that essentially
Hoku5: Will step in, has an architectural component
Hoku5: under their umbrella, and that… that will not… that cannot be us. There's a… there's a conflict of interest here.
Hoku5: And they will look at Efficiencies.
Hoku5: they are experts in constructing. They… in building. They might look at this and say, we can shave off a million dollars here by changing this particular,
Hoku5: component of construction from X to Y.
Hoku5: And if that does not… as long as that does not change the vision, of the project.
Hoku5: that's… that's okay to call. So, there are… there are two…
Hoku5: There are two design, if you will, components to this project by two different entities.
Hoku5: Does that make sense?
Hoku5: And does that even answer your question?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yes.
Hoku5: Okay.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Well, it answers the question that the designing is taking place, so now that you've answered that for me.
Hoku5: Maybe that could have been true.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: The RFP was for whoever it was for, who can build it.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, the RFP was for who can build it, right? That's what I'm hearing.
Hoku5: The RFP has not been issued. There has been an RFI…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay. Now, in the process for the design, have we had… I mean, is there going to be a process where the design is shared before the RFP goes out?
Hoku5: Oh, yeah!
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: For comments from the community.
Hoku5: Oh, yeah. There's… I mean, what you… what you saw today, that rendering.
Hoku5: like I said, that is hot off the press, and we are really excited to finally have something that is, you know, that people can look at, that's not just, you know, spreadsheets, and, I mean, this is… this is a different level now, and then it's kind of exciting, and yes, we have, we are in the process of developing floor plans, so we, this is moving rather quickly right now.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I don't think I have any more questions.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Just a real quick note. Barbara, in regards to in-person visits, you know, that's really a policy issue.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And it's a national best practice to have physical contact, you know, your visits throughout the correctional environment nationally, yeah? The issues we're having in Hawaii now goes against
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: those practices.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay? So, with the question that you asked on whether or not there's going to be an in-person visit, most of the jails, almost every facility is equipped for in-person visiting, yeah? They also have non-contact,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: options as well. Right. Yeah. So, I just wanted to share that with you so you understand that there's an expectation that there will be in-person visiting at this new facility should it be built.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Contact. Contact. Yeah, contact visits. It's more or not in-person, it's contact. Yep.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: It is a national best… Oh.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: practice, yeah, so if you're going to quote nationally that you're doing best practices in your correctional system, that includes contact visits, okay?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: What's also interesting about that, just to add briefly, is, after the last legislative session, Senator Alephante actually put through a Senate, resolution
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to incorporate and run in-person contact visits at all facilities. If I'm remembering correctly, I think it gave them a year to fulfill that, but I'll go back and check. But this is something that the Commission
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: concerned about for all facilities, and something that we continue to ask about and push on, especially when we go to the facilities and see what's happening. So thank you so much for bringing up that point.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Barbara.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Bettina and Sana, for this conversation. I know there's more and more work to be done. Thank you, Sana, for taking down those requests for me. You can get back to us when you're ready. I just want to make a quick housekeeping.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Brother, are you from the community? No, I am here with Representative Melotti. Okay, okay. Anyway…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I just want to make an announcement that when I say public testimony, that includes everybody in the room as well. You know, I was only focused on the TV right now, and so some individuals have left, and I apologize, but when I talk… well, public testimony includes those of you who are in the room as well. And there are individuals in the room, so thank you very much.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Let's move on at this time to item…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Number 7, the overview of the Oversight Coordinator's report.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you. Hello everyone, my name is Kristen Johnson, I'm the Oversight Coordinator, and by law, we post a monthly report that covers everything the Commission or staff have done within the past month. And we also use these reports to, post about deaths in custody. So.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: To start off with, unfortunately, in December, there were 4 deaths in custody. On Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025, at approximately 9.20 a.m, a male in custody, 45 years old, was found unresponsive on suicide watch at OCCC. Medical staff were immediately informed and directed staff to call 911. DCR records indicate that
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: The Hawaii Fire Department arrived around 9.38 AM, and EMS arrived around 9.45. DCR records also indicate that Descendant was transported to the hospital at 9.57 a.m. and was pronounced deceased at 10.39 a.m. in the emergency room at the hospital. An autopsy will determine the official cause of death, and also the official time of death.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And on Friday, December 5th, 2025, at approximately 11.46 AM, a male in custody, 48 years old, was found unresponsive in a cell at Halava. Security staff immediately began CPR until medical staff arrived to continue that CPR, but at approximately 12.17 PM, EMS arrived on the scene.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: and transported the descendant to the hospital emergency room at approximately 12.26 PM.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: This cause of death does appear to be a suicide, but again, an autopsy will determine the official cause and time of death. On Friday, December 19th, 2025, at approximately 6.20pm, a white male in custody at 34 years old at Halava was found unresponsive in a cell. Security personnel immediately responded, conducted CPR, and alerted 911. EMS arrived on the scene at approximately 7.15 PM.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: and approximately 7.46 PM, the individual was pronounced deceased. This death also appears to be a suicide, but an autopsy will determine the official cause of death.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And on Thursday, December 25th, 2025, at approximately 1.51 PM, a male in custody, 74 years old, was pronounced deceased after being booked into DCR custody on December 22nd, 2025.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: The circumstances leading up to this death, are very unclear, and still being investigated, but an autopsy will determine the official cause.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: and time of death. So again, we will continue to report out on deaths in custody, and, a large,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Focus area for 2026 for us is reporting systemically, so looking back years, looking at autopsy reports, looking at the cause of death, so that we can work with the department to try to figure out how to prevent deaths in custody.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Facility for the lesser.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Oh,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I want to say OCCC for the last one. I apologize, I, I didn't include the facility on that last stuff. I'm… I'm almost positive it was OCCC.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: It is OCCC, I will make sure that I add that into the report, my apologies.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: On a lighter note, in December, we welcomed new staff. We welcomed our very first prison oversight specialist. So again, this individual, named Chris L. Britton. He will be investigating all of our prisons. We're super happy and grateful to have him with us. And again, just expand our availability to look at systemic reviews and also
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: individual complaints. So thank you for joining us. We're thrilled to really expand our investigative processes for 2026.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: For events attended, we have quite a few of them, so I'll go through them quickly, but our staff
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: at WCCC attended a MyPath Women's Empowerments Conference that was hosted for the women in custody there. This was a very large event, 88 incarcerated women participated in this, which is fantastic, and so we appreciate, the department inviting us to that.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Our staff also has been participating in the post-booking jail diversion program, and so there was a recent meeting, where…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Judge… Oh my gosh, what is his name?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Judge Leafman, from Miami County-Dade had come and shared his experience, with post-booking diversion. It was very, very helpful. All of the county prosecutors were there, and different stakeholders, and so we appreciate being invited to that as well. And in addition to that, our staff actually observed several hearings at District Court,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: presided over by the Honorable Deputy Chief Judge Melanie May, and this was very, very helpful for our staff to kind of understand how diversion can work in real time in the court setting, and so we appreciate being able to participate in that.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Our staff also attended, a Helping People Every Day program, just to observe operations and engage with staff and get a better understanding about how peer support, can really help with successful reentry. Our staff also attended a Kiki Day that was hosted at KCCC, which is our jail on Kauai. This was a very successful event. 33 family members
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: members had participated in this, which is really fantastic. And this was for 13 people who are in custody. What's important about this is that this is a jail setting, and so programs like this typically are a little bit more difficult to do in those types of settings because the population is so transient, and so the fact that
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: KCCC was able to pull that off is really great. It's great to see.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: The last event that we attended was, a training on correctional medical oversight, which covered critical components and takeaways specifically from California. This was extremely helpful for our staff because
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: The webinar had really covered, you know, case review and compliance, and looking at 15 key indicators to evaluate healthcare quality, and so again, webinars and trainings like this just help us really standardize and be in alignment with best practices
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: In hopes that we will be the best oversight agency in the country.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Other than that, we are finishing out our case management system. That should be, completed this month. We're actually uploading all of our current cases that we have into that system.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So that we can really use it to dive into the data of how many complaints we've received, what types of complaints they are, and then, of course, the investigative function of just using it for an actual case management, of keeping track of all the notes and documentation. So that is it for me. Thank you, Chair.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Christine, well done.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Opening up the, for the public testimony on the, oversight coordinator's, monthly report at this time.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Any questions?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: or comments.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Seeing none, what?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, go ahead, Ronald.
Ronald Fujiyoshi: First, I want to say Happy New Year to the commissioners and the excellent staff. I want to congratulate you on your important work.
Ronald Fujiyoshi: As a retired pastor of the Olaf First Hawaiian Church, I feel like somebody needs to comment on the four deaths in custody.
Ronald Fujiyoshi: I think in the past, the commissioners had requested of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to give a report.
Ronald Fujiyoshi: On, on what happens in the follow-up, you know, because you're, you're saying that it's under,
Ronald Fujiyoshi: people are looking into it. Well, what's the… what's the result? You know, I… I want to know, for example, if,
Ronald Fujiyoshi: the Pahahao know that there are chaplains that they can reach out to, and whether they have reached out to the chaplains, so that, whether the chaplains are involved in the, in, meeting with people, prior to, any incident, because,
Ronald Fujiyoshi: I think there are telltale signs that happen before people, commit suicide, or.
R. Mark Browning: feel that they're about to, their life might be threatened, and so I think,
Ronald Fujiyoshi: It would be, I would, emphasize, to the commissioners, again, to, ask the staff to report on.
Ronald Fujiyoshi: Analysis of what happens in the cases of why this is happening, and what can be done to, to, try and, cut down on the, on the cases.
Ronald Fujiyoshi: Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Clark.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Anybody… oh, Carrie Ann has… We can finish. I had a comment for Ron… Ron, when you're… When you're… yeah, we have to… Go ahead, Carrie Ann.
Carrie Ann Shirota: Thank you so much, Commissioners.
Carrie Ann Shirota: Thank you so much through the Commission for having a focus on moving forward on the deaths in custody. I am also deeply troubled to hear that 16 people did die this past year. That might be, again, a record number. And following up on Kahu.
Carrie Ann Shirota: to just add that there's… continues to be a lack of transparency, which also means lack of accountability relating to deaths and custody. Community members are interested in learning more about
Carrie Ann Shirota: these specific debts. Is there drug use involved? You know, there are periods of time where you hear of high rates of drugs being smuggled in, particularly into Halava and elsewhere.
Carrie Ann Shirota: How does that play a role into these debts in custody? For the…
Carrie Ann Shirota: deaths that may appear to be suicide, how many of them are actually determined to be suicides, or they just appear to be a suicide, but in fact something else has occurred within our jails and prisons. That's been something that I've heard from people who have been incarcerated for years on end.
Carrie Ann Shirota: about people dying, and they make it appear like it's a suicide, but it in fact is not. And so, who is conducting these investigations for the deaths in custody?
Carrie Ann Shirota: Is it the department, their own internal affairs? Is it Honolulu Police Department? Is it the Department of Law Enforcement? Who has jurisdiction over that, and then providing that information to the community? And how many of these individuals are in isolation, and for the length of period of time that they have maybe been in the shoe or elsewhere, and how does that play an impact
Carrie Ann Shirota: upon these deaths in custody. Thank you so much.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you. Any other, kat?
Kat Brady: Aloha.
Kat Brady: I have 3 issues. One is, do we know who the private entity is that's being considered for OCCC?
Kat Brady: If it's core civic, we have real issues with that, because I've been talking with a lot of, the people who are incarcerated in Saguaro, and they have just…
Kat Brady: it's a mess there. They're understaffed, they have limited the times on the phone, which definitely impacts people in Hawaii. Families who are working, by the time they get home,
Kat Brady: They… they're past the time where they could actually talk to their loved one, so that is a real concern for me. And overall.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, do you have anything…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Do you have anything on the oversight coordinator's report? Once this is done, then we'll go into the other public testimony.
Kat Brady: I wasn't sure, because it says public comment, but then it says public comment on issues for next meeting, so I wasn't sure where I fit, so I can wait.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, thank you, Kat, appreciate it. Any other comments on the Oversight Coordinator's report?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, hearing none, Commissioners?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: I just want to give an attaboy to Kahu Ron, because the whole idea of chaplainies is huge nationally, internationally. Chips at sea have chaplains, sports teams, schools, and we can't do enough
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: as Ron says, for Apo, and particularly when they're at a… in a situation like that.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So, it's a great idea. Stay at it, Ron.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Commissioners in,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: we have been concerned, and the staff have been concerned with the death reports that we have been doing ever since Christian, was hired. And,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: What has been successful for us is the fact that the legislature have given us Staff.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Right? With the jail investigator last year, with the prison investigator now, we can look more in depth to all the inquiries and the questions that you folks just presented right now. So I'm gonna ask Kristen to,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Briefly summarize all the work that we've been doing on the issue of death in custody.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yes, okay. So…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Just to give some context for those who may not be aware, we were actually the first entity in the state to report out publicly on deaths in custody, and we're really proud of that, because deaths in custody across the nation is something that
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: is not widely publicized, and so even when trying to compare where we are to other states, it's extremely difficult to do because many states post nothing, which is…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: not far off from what Hawaii was doing not long ago. So when we post us in custody, I just want to remind everybody, like, this is the…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: very, very initial report. This is the immediate report of what had just happened. So all of these deaths had just occurred not a year ago, but a month ago. Death investigations are conducted by the departments. They're conducted by staff throughout the facility, who are either witnessed, who were there, et cetera, et cetera. They all do reports, it goes up the line. These death investigations take about a year
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: year to complete. And because of that, that was a big reason why, frankly, we just… we didn't want to wait. That's a long time to get an understanding of how many deaths are happening so that you can start making recommendations right away.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So the investigations, just to be clear, those are… those are being conducted, specifically by the department, and it takes about a year, which is… which is normal, I feel. Even oversight entities probably takes about a year to complete a full death investigation. They're very, very thorough.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: What we are doing is…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So obviously, we received the initial priority that a death occurred, we received the initial reports about it so that we can report it out to the public. But what we're also doing is pulling, historical information. So we're pulling information from every single death in custody occurred back to 1990. And we're doing that so that we can understand
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: what the…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: you know, if there are any, type of trends going on. So, in coordination with that, we reached out to every corner, to get the
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: autopsy report directly from them, so we didn't get it from the department, we got it from the coroner, or the medical examiner. We did that so that we could determine the official cause of death.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So that we could determine any bizarre injuries or anything that's being noted that maybe wouldn't have been in those department reports. We did that so that we can track any amount of drug use, that an individual might have drugs in their system.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: At the point of death, and we're creating a very large, thorough.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: timely, database that's going to have all this information, so that when you guys are asking questions as far as, is this the highest year that we've had with, you know, deaths in custody, we're going to be able to answer that. You know, is this a common theme where people have drugs in their system when they've committed suicide? We're going to be able to answer that. Like, all of these
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Black spots and black areas that previously haven't even been probably thoroughly looked into.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: we're going to be providing that. A big…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: challenge to it is, some of the paperwork's very old and has been proven difficult to find, but it's something that we're continuously working on. This is going to be something that we're going to get feedback,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: at least from stakeholders who we're very close with, who we work with collectively often, so that before we even post it, we can at least get an idea of, is this what you're looking for? Is this what you're hoping for?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Many of you on this meeting will be included on that, as you're the folks who give us the most feedback. Once it's available to the public, we'll continue to get feedback, of course, if there's information we're missing, if there's more you want to see, and if we can't get it, we're going to explain why. But I just wanted to be very transparent. This is a… this is a massive, massive priority for us for 2026. I am determined to get it posted.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: This year, hopefully within the next 6 months, if not sooner.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: But yeah, but just to answer some of those initial questions, like, unfortunately, the true death investigation does take an extended period of time, and even autopsy reports, just to figure out the official cause of death, you know, if people had substances in their system, et cetera, et cetera, those autopsy reports take at least 3 to 6 months to get from the medical examiner or coroner, and so we request them immediately, so that
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: you know, we paid for it, our request is in, they have it, but I just want to give you all an idea, like, that's…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: that's how long some of these processes can take. And so, the information that we're trying to put out is information that we know
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: is as accurate as at least we have. You know, even writing, it appears to be suicide, again, that's important to us.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Because we don't… we don't want to wait until, you know, months and months later to say.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: you know, this is what it seems to be. We want to know in real time so that, again, we can continue to make recommendations and continue to make informed decisions, so…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: So that's kind of an outline of what we're working on, but if you have any additional questions about that, or feedback, or wanted to set up a meeting with me or talk more, I'd be more than happy to do that. All of our contact information, including our email and our phone number, are on our website.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Chris.
R. Mark Browning: I'd like to…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Any other questions from the commissioners?
R. Mark Browning: Yes.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Go ahead, Judge.
R. Mark Browning: It's not so much a question, but a comment. I just want us to respond… in response to some of the comments about
R. Mark Browning: These untimely and unfortunate deaths.
R. Mark Browning: It's important for you… I know you know this, as members of the public, I'm sure you know this, but I guess it's important for us to also… for us to say, that we are profoundly affected with each of these deaths.
R. Mark Browning: It brings sadness, and, just…
R. Mark Browning: I can't un… just… how could any of this happen? I mean, it's…
R. Mark Browning: I don't know how to express it in words, to be honest.
R. Mark Browning: And I would like… I want to just say, so that people
R. Mark Browning: Out and the public understand, and… It's not always…
R. Mark Browning: Easy to get this information, as you probably know, from DCR.
R. Mark Browning: To say the least. Whenever these, Incidents happen, these tragedies happen.
R. Mark Browning: But I can tell you that in each and every single one of these incidents,
R. Mark Browning: Kristen has been reacted immediately to gather and collect information, to get responses from DCR about specific requests.
R. Mark Browning: And she's tenacious about that.
R. Mark Browning: And I… I say this because I've… I've watched it and seen it in action, even to the extent that we… when we weren't getting cooperation from
R. Mark Browning: DCR, that she set up a meeting, and I went with her to meet with the AG, the Attorney General of the State of Lloyd, to discuss with the AG why we weren't being given information that was required to be provided to us under law.
R. Mark Browning: And she's done that in different forms, multiple times. And so, as we go forward into the future, hopefully we will be able to address this in a way that provides more transparency for all.
R. Mark Browning: Everybody in the public and, you know, in our community who deserve to know.
R. Mark Browning: But more importantly, hopefully, we can find
R. Mark Browning: Sort of solutions to the problems that create these tragedies.
R. Mark Browning: Which is, really difficult.
R. Mark Browning: to… to articulate.
R. Mark Browning: So, thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Judge Boney.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: With no further, I said, maybe you can comment on this. When there is a suicide in the jails or the prisons, I want you to know also it really impacts the staff very much, too.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: They are second-guessing themselves, what could we have done to stop this from taking place? So it doesn't go unnoticed at all by the staff. It really impacts them.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: It's, it's traumatic.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Especially if you're the one having to cut it down, cut the body down, or discover. Yeah, it's always traumatic for the individual staff member involved in that.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: You know, Ron, for your information, when the word suicide is uttered, it actually creates a process.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: That's already ingrained in training at all levels, that when someone says suicide, or has suicide thoughts, and articulates it, that person is immediately watched and put into a process of observation.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, it's the ones that we miss that have no indication.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Or, the signs was not seen.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, that we bypass and we miss. But it doesn't mean it can't be resolved. It's an intentional program, it's an intentional focus on how do we stop
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Suicides.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Medical is another concern as well, and that's how we deal with it in terms of compassionate release, etc, and those kinds of things. But I also want to say there is investigations that are done
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Outside of the department, if the death is seen, with a criminal element attached to it, such as a murder.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah, so those, those things, Honolulu Police Department will investigate in regards to that. But I am very happy with where we are in regards to our work as a commission in regards to death in custody, as we were all here
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: 5 years ago, trying to figure out how to solve the problem with the directors at that time. Six years ago. Six years ago. So…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you for the community for keeping us on our toes and reminding us what needs to be done in that area. I'm going to move on to the next agenda item and open it up for public testimony for things that we may not have discussed on the agenda, Kat, and so I'm just number one.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: After 10. His son, Henry.
Kat Brady: Thank you.
Kat Brady: Commissioners, so as I was saying, there have been massive lockdowns in Saguaro, and I'm receiving a lot of calls from families and from people who are incarcerated there. It's been… it's turned into mass punishment, and I've been hearing that there are,
Kat Brady: Problems with people getting their medication during lockdowns, no medication. That
Kat Brady: Is definitely connected with people who commit suicide.
Kat Brady: Especially people who are on psychotropic medications.
Kat Brady: That is a huge problem. I know that they, Saguaro keeps saying that they're short-staffed. Well, what's really interesting is they're never short of money to lobby.
Kat Brady: And they have been spending millions of dollars lobbying jurisdictions. So, this is a huge problem, and I hope that the Commission can look into what's going on there. During the lockdowns, there is no medication.
Kat Brady: And that they violate their own, policy of
Kat Brady: 15-1, which says that people need medication and should be getting it.
Kat Brady: Another problem is the, Hawaii Correctional Monitor, who…
Kat Brady: People have been asking for, a copy of the law that was passed on solitary confinement, and she has stopped anything
Kat Brady: any information going to the people inside. They have a right to know.
Kat Brady: They're Hawaii citizens, they have a right to know what our legislature is doing, and what laws have passed, and how that would affect them. And the last thing I want to bring up is training. I think it's really, really important, and we need to understand that we have people incarcerated in Hawaii.
Kat Brady: people incarcerated in contract prisons, and also people on interstate compacts. And we seem to forget about people on interstate compacts who are in prisons all around the country.
Kat Brady: So, this is really, really important. And, lastly, I really want to know who the P3 is that they're talking about for building OCCC. This should not be a secret.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: We should know, because the community is dependent on, paying for this.
Kat Brady: You know, we have a right to know what's happening with our family and loved ones. Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Kat.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: What was the one you said? Misano. Misana?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Maisonna, you did have your hand up, and then you lowered it, is that correct?
Maysana Aldeguer: Yes, yes.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Can't hear you. We can't hear you. Okay, thank you.
Maysana Aldeguer: Can you hear me now?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Can you guys hear me?
Maysana Aldeguer: Okay, I just had a question from the… Death rates out in,
Maysana Aldeguer: It's a girl. I was just wondering if…
Maysana Aldeguer: It could be also related to family separation.
Maysana Aldeguer: Because I talked to a mother whose son
Maysana Aldeguer: was shipped to Arizona, and she didn't even know that her son was actually there.
Maysana Aldeguer: And she was never notified.
Maysana Aldeguer: And, she found out through, other family members
Maysana Aldeguer: Who were there and notified her.
Maysana Aldeguer: And, he too was… Mentally not well, because…
Maysana Aldeguer: He never left the island. These young boys
Maysana Aldeguer: Never even went to Maui or Molokai.
Maysana Aldeguer: And then the next thing they know is they're getting shipped off
Maysana Aldeguer: Away from their families, so can we kind of…
Maysana Aldeguer: Check also on that area, too, about the family separation, some kind of,
Maysana Aldeguer: Because he was thinking about attempting suicide also.
Maysana Aldeguer: Until we finally got to talk to family members. So, you know, can we kind of look in that area, you know, because
Maysana Aldeguer: These guys never left the island, that's just my concern.
Maysana Aldeguer: About the family separation.
Maysana Aldeguer: And being away from the islands. Thank you.
Maysana Aldeguer: And Happy New Year to everyone.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you. Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Nina K. Aloha, Nina.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Nina K. Aloha?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: You gotta, you're muted right now.
Nina Kealoha: Hello!
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you.
Nina Kealoha: Sorry, I'm actually at a conference right now, but I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of you for, you know, kind of following the issue I have, and…
Nina Kealoha: I just want to say that I was one of the forensic peer specialists that was fortunate enough to welcome Ms. Christine Johnson.
Nina Kealoha: into our fold, and I thank you for all your hard work.
Nina Kealoha: I do have an update on Reef's situation, which is kind of a positive and a negative.
Nina Kealoha: So, I spoke to Scott Gimbal, and it was confirmed that they have rectified a situation regarding his transfer.
Nina Kealoha: So he should be on his way home. Right now, it's just a sitting and waiting game.
Nina Kealoha: But the concern is that he was in a facility that wasn't,
Nina Kealoha: equipped to house him, right? Meaning the visiting process takes about 20 weeks, and I've mentioned this in previous, emails. So, currently, his inmate account is near depleted.
Nina Kealoha: Right, so he doesn't even have the opportunity to, purchase basic necessities because of the visiting situation, and their approval, which actually just changed.
Nina Kealoha: me nor his family are unable to provide financial support for him. And, you know, unfortunately, I am the only one, and I'm not trying to downplay his family situation, that, you know, essentially keeps the communication lines open, right? And, he is remaining positive.
Nina Kealoha: And, you know, I just feel like, is there a way, and this is, you know, a question for the Commission, but is there a way that we can find, like, an individual that can focus solely on our interstate compact inmates? Because we have one for Arizona and Halava.
Nina Kealoha: Which I feel that, you know, the population that are a part of our interstate compact in Maine is far less than what we have housed in Halava and Sagaro.
Nina Kealoha: So, how is it that their needs are not met?
Nina Kealoha: Just like how saguaro inmates' needs are met when it comes to visitation and, the approval process.
Nina Kealoha: You know, and the information I received is firsthand from… from South Carolina, the Ms. Isaacs in the visiting office.
Nina Kealoha: you know, I'm going a little over, and I apologize. But it is a concern, especially for the inmates that are far, far away from their family.
Nina Kealoha: You know… So that's just the concern now, because he's pretty much, like, on his own now.
Nina Kealoha: I'm his only point of contact.
Nina Kealoha: to anybody.
Nina Kealoha: Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: And Nina, thank you. Thank you, Nina.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Ron?
Ronald Fujiyoshi: I want to say three things. First,
Ronald Fujiyoshi: Mark talked about the logo. Our longtime president, Uncle Sam Kaliliiki, his name, his namesake comes from that incident of the broken paddle on Kamehera Great's,
Ronald Fujiyoshi: head, so, you know, we're… we feel really tied to the logo. Thank you very much. Secondly, Mark talked about the opening of the legislature this session, and we wanted to follow up on that and hope that you can help spearhead and keep us informed of one of the important bills that are before the legislature
Ronald Fujiyoshi: So you can help,
Ronald Fujiyoshi: Help us, keep our eyes on what, needs… testimony needs to go in on, on…
Ronald Fujiyoshi: And I think even today, I was even surprised that Carrie Ann is on this call, because there is a demonstration, I think, at this morning at 9, about trying to get the legislature to be more porno in its process, and so I think it all relates to this. And finally, the one thing that I wanted to say is that
Ronald Fujiyoshi: Ohano Pakteli has, advocating, cultural, wisdom and,
Ronald Fujiyoshi: Resources in the healing or rehabilitation,
Ronald Fujiyoshi: of, in this whole process. And in the whole presentation on the OCCC, I didn't hear anything about, relating to, Kanaka, cultural wisdom and resources, and I think that definitely, if it's it being built in Hawaii.
Ronald Fujiyoshi: That's a big, a big, blind spot in my understanding, and I think it's a blind spot in many people's eyes as well. Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Ron. Thank you, Cole.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Any other public comment, George?
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Good.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, everyone. It's been a bit, very,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: extensive meeting today, for our first meeting of the year. And I say that because…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thursday, February 12th, Ron, is our next meeting here in Oahu.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Yeah. Here in Oahu, at 9 o'clock in the morning, and that meeting, we will be discussing… No.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: We're gonna add a meeting. We're gonna add a meeting… I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We will add a meeting sometime before the end of January that will have specifically discussed legislative,
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: issues or priorities that the Commission will want to bring forth, and get your comments on that. And the ledge is starting later this year, so that means that bills being introduced, you know, it's going to be to the end of January, pretty much. Yep.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, so, but other than that, February 12th is our next meeting at 9am here in Oahu. We're gearing up for the legislative session. I know we'll be seeing a lot of you over there. I'm sorry.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Leah, did you… did you have a comment you wanted to, testimony? Are you still on? Yeah, she didn't raise her hand.
Lea Kinikini: No, I'm okay, I'm okay, I submitted it in writing.
Lea Kinikini: Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, okay, does she want this public? Leah, do you want us to go ahead and make this public that you gave us?
Lea Kinikini: Oh, yeah, should I summarize? Because I think you usually put it up on the website, but in summary, it was just, talking about the November,
Lea Kinikini: topic of security threat group or gang,
Lea Kinikini: profiling that the DCR is doing amongst our inmates or family members, their policy is very weak. When they send them over to the interstate compacts.
Lea Kinikini: it creates a due process, issue, I believe, and Commissioner Browning also commented on that. So I was just following up whether, that will be on future agendas so that we can kind of organize for putting in, better comments.
Lea Kinikini: So it was just that issue. Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Leah, I just want to ask you, I noticed you made some edits on your written… on your comments. Do you want to submit a clean copy to Kristen?
Lea Kinikini: I didn't take a photo of that. If someone takes a photo, I'll go ahead and, make those edits, and then send a clean copy for the record.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay, thank you. Thank you, Leah. Appreciate that. Once again, I…
Lea Kinikini: University.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Go ahead, Nina.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Did you have a question?
Nina Kealoha: I wanted to touch on Doug.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Nina, we can't hear you.
Nina Kealoha: I wanted to touch on the SDG, because I actually did have a conversation with Rifa about that, you know, when he got violated and brought back in, and I asked him, what process happened while he was there, and how did they determine
Nina Kealoha: That he was still affiliated, or, you know, an inactive member. And he actually stated that no one, no one from the gang unit, no case manager, no one spoke to him in regards to his affiliation.
Nina Kealoha: You know, like, how it was reported to you guys from the facility that they do a process.
Nina Kealoha: So, he said, when he came back in January 2024, there was no process, or, you know, nobody came to meet him. What happened was he got picked up from HPA, he got booked, he got pictured, he got, you know, whatever, and he was…
Nina Kealoha: They asked him what his affiliation was, and he stated that he was an inactive Uso fam.
Nina Kealoha: And…
Nina Kealoha: That was it, his picture was taken, he was given his badge, and he was sent right back to the module at Hila, which is a gang module.
Nina Kealoha: And I asked him many times, like, are you sure? Nobody came to see you. And, he stated, no, he… he's never been approached
Nina Kealoha: About any, you know.
Nina Kealoha: anything of his affiliation history, so I feel like, you know, is it just the facility is reporting that they do this procedure, or is it something that you guys actually looked into?
Nina Kealoha: Like, are there records? Because if somebody's coming to me as a case manager.
Nina Kealoha: I expect there to be a record, you know? Being a ex-inmate myself, that was always a process for us. You know, everything was documented.
Nina Kealoha: So that, you know, that's what I want to address is, is there, like, an actual…
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: you know.
Nina Kealoha: Process that's done, and is it noted?
Nina Kealoha: Because according to Reef, there was no, like, there was nothing, no affiliation investigation done.
Nina Kealoha: Thank you.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you, Nina.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Okay.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: That's it for our meeting today. Thank you for all your responses, for your testimony. Commissioners, for your presence here. Thank you for 2025. Looking forward to 2026 with you. Thank you for the staff who are here, and we'll see you folks
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Next week.
Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission: Thank you. Or two. Thank you, Cheryl. Bye-bye.