Courthouse security questioned in Kona

By CHELSEA JENSEN

Stephens Media

A lack of operable vehicles for state sheriffs has attorneys and court officials concerned about security at courthouses in Kona.

The Hawaii Department of Public Safety’s Sheriff Division has just one working vehicle, a custody van, serving Kona’s four court facilities, which span a distance of about eight miles and three locations, said Lt. Patrick Kawai, who was en route to Kona Wednesday morning to meet with his sergeant and deputies. Because of the inability to travel, Kawai explained, the area’s eight deputies may not be within court rooms for every hearing.

“I don’t feel comfortable having one vehicle and leaving them without a means of transportation,” he said about leaving deputies at facilities and picking them up later in the day.

The division normally operates with three vehicles, including the remaining operable van, he explained. At least one of the inoperable vehicle’s is repairable. He said at least five vehicles, two of which should be custody transport vans and three marked squad cars, would be needed for the most adequate service in Kona.

He also added that concerns over vehicles is an islandwide issue that has dragged on since before he assumed the lieutenant position several years ago. Deputies cannot use their own vehicles for official work because of collective bargaining agreements.

A request for funding for repairs and vehicles has been sent to the Honolulu office, Kawai said noting he has had no response to the letter and comprehensive report.

“I’ve done everything I can to mitigate it,” he said. “The amount (requested) isn’t unreasonable.”

Calls to the Department of Public Safety were referred to department spokeswoman Toni Schwartz who said the department is aware of the “shortage of vehicles throughout the state.”

She said that the department is working to address the issue by compiling a list of vehicle needs for each division that it will submit to the state Legislature, which convenes in early 2013. The list includes vehicles for Hawaii Island, as well as funding for repairs and to replace vehicles with more than 100,000 miles, she said.

In the interim, “we are authorizing estimates to fix cars that are down. That’s all we can do for now,” she said.

3rd Circuit Court Deputy Administrator Dawn West, who is based in Kona, said the lack of sheriff transport has impacted the court’s operations. A memorandum of understanding exists between the Judiciary and Sheriff Division for its services, however, no judiciary funding supports sheriffs.

“We still don’t have sheriff at our facilities all the time, which is a request we have been making,” she said. “The safety of the court’s and state buildings is covered by the sheriff. We want sheriffs in every facility and every courtroom when court is in session.”

The Department of Public Safety’s Sheriff Division is mandated by Hawaii Revised Statutes that it “shall be responsible for the formulation and implementation of state policies and objectives for correctional, security, law enforcement, and public safety programs and functions, for the administration and maintenance of all public or private correctional facilities and services, for the service of process, and for the security of state buildings,” including court houses.

The division, according to a 2010 audit by state Auditor Marion Higa, also works “to protect state judges and judicial proceedings, secure judicial facilities, and safely handle detained persons and provide secure transport for persons in custody.”

West Hawaii Bar Association President Robert Kim called the situation a “security crisis.” He said he plans to write a letter to Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald for help addressing the issue.

“The members feel it is a security crisis that the manpower to protect our judges, attorneys and the public is being curtailed because of a vehicle problem that there’s no end to in sight,” he said. … “This is ridiculous and it is dangerous, fatally dangerous, because of the volatility of what can happen in the courts.”

Email Chelsea Jensen cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com.