In order to provide clarity and factual information, the Hawaii Department of Public Safety would like to respond to a letter written by Kat Brady that appeared in Honolulu Weekly (10/7).

The decision to close the Kulani Correctional Facility was an extremely difficult one, made necessary by the state’s financial situation. The department did not initiate this change without great consideration and it was definitely not done to justify the transfer of additional inmates out of Hawaii. The fact is the state cannot afford to operate as usual in these unprecedented, fiscally challenging times. We simply cannot afford the size of state government, programs and facilities that we have maintained in the past.

More than 15 years ago, faced by the lack of sufficient space for its growing offender population and the inability to obtain public support for the construction of a new prison, the department was faced with the necessity of transferring inmates out of state.

At that time, the department was operating under a federal consent decree that specifically required alleviating overcrowded conditions at our correctional facilities. Despite the shortage of prison space and the dramatic increase in both jail and prison sentencing population, the State of Hawaii was not able to build a new correctional facility in over 22 years.

None of the Kulani inmates have been sent to the [mainland.And] while the Kulani was the site of the department’s largest sex offender treatment program, this prison was also the most expensive prison facility for the department to operate. The daily cost per inmate at that facility was $101, not $90.24 as incorrectly stated in Ms. Brady’s letter. The cost to house an inmate at the Federal Detention Center is $86.90 per day, per inmate and not $90.90 cited by Ms. Brady. When the department closed Kulani, the facility had 127 inmates, not 210 as erroneously stated.

With the closure of Kulani and the expansion of our existing sex-offender treatment program on Oahu, inmates will be able to complete the program in almost half the time that it took at Kulani, without decreasing the effectiveness of the program. This is because the program held at Kulani required a therapist to be flown from Oahu to the Big Island to conduct at least one program session per week. With the treatment program now taking place on Oahu, we are able to conduct additional sessions per week, which allows sex offenders opportunity to complete the required program in 12 months instead of 24 months. In addition, funds for therapist travel are now put back into the program, allowing additional treatment.

The state lacks the capacity to house all of the inmates currently on the mainland. The cost to house, feed, treat, educate and provide treatment programs for inmates, held in Arizona, is $64.44 per day, per inmate. In comparison the cost of a minimum-security bed at Kulani was $101 per day, per inmate. Additionally, infrastructure (i.e. sewer, water treatment, water hauling, etc.) costs to maintain the facility were also considered. Given the state’s economic situation, it is irresponsible to continue to operate the facility when a more cost-effective arrangement is available.

The Department of Public Safety welcomes real solutions, constructive feedback and the opportunity to answer any concern.

Tommy Johnson
Deputy Director for Corrections
Hawaii Department of Public Safety