The inmate population at Hawaii Community Correctional Center continues to shrink as a result of an order by the Hawaii Supreme Court to reduce populations in the state’s jails and prisons to help prevent a COVID-19 outbreak in those facilities.
As of Thursday, according to a report by Daniel R. Foley, a retired Intermediate Court of Appeals judge appointed by the high court to oversee an orderly release of inmates, there were 235 inmates in the Hilo jail. That’s 20 fewer than on April 23, and a reduction of 160 inmates since March 2, when a population of 395 inmates was reported.
The statewide jails population, which also includes Oahu, Maui and Kauai community correctional centers, was at 1,378 on Thursday, down 811 inmates from the 2,189 inmate population reported March 2.
According to the state Department of Public Safety, HCCC, which has two campuses — one at the corner of Waianuenue Avenue and Komohana Street and the other, Hale Nani, just off Highway 11 on Hilo’s southern outskirts — was designed to hold 206 inmates and has what DPS calls an “operating capacity” of 226 inmates.
Hawaii County Prosecutor Mitch Roth said he thinks HCCC’s current inmate population of 235 is “a safe number.”
“And it doesn’t matter what I think, because the Supreme Court is saying to get down to the design capacity number versus the operating capacity number,” Roth said. “But what I’ve been trying to talk to the special master about, and I’ve sent him aerial photos of both Hale Nani and the Komohana-Waianuenue unit, is explaining that it’s not a small unit. I would like to see them look at this a little differently.”
Roth said he also talked with DPS about the possibility of using Kulani Correctional Facility — a minimum-security prison on the slopes of Mauna Loa about 20 miles southwest of Hilo — to house jail inmates.
“The other recommendation I’ve made to the special master — which is not in the report — is the possibility of putting Joe Arpaio-style tent at Hale Nani to cover a few extra people during this period,” Roth said, referring to the controversial former sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., who became well-known for housing jail inmates in tents.
“I think that we have some options that we can still use, but the Supreme Court trumps what I would like to see happen,” Roth said.
The report also notes that as of Thursday, there have been no reports of COVID-19 positive cases at the state’s correctional facilities.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.