The Honolulu Advertiser's informative series on Hawai'i's prison system (Oct. 2-4), thoroughly researched and written by Kevin Dayton, shed light on this frustrating and complex issue.

Our prisons are severely overcrowded, perhaps dangerously so. We keep sending more and more prisoners to the Mainland, as though we have forgotten that this was supposed to be just an interim solution until we could develop more facilities locally. Despite attempts by past governors to build correctional facilities, there have been no new facilities built since 1987, when the Halawa Medium Security Facility opened.

Hawai'i's correctional system is at a critical crossroads because we can no longer put off dealing with the major problem of overcrowding. We need to be tough on crime, but we have run out of space to house more criminals. There has also been little effort and virtually no progress toward building more prisons and jails. The lack of results in the area of corrections has been compounded by the lack of stable leadership, as the director of public safety position has been a revolving door.

The Legislature, concerned about the detrimental effects of sending prisoners to Mainland facilities, tried to address this problem in 2002 by appropriating $1.5 million to plan a new secure treatment facility on the island of Hawai'i. We also appropriated $140,000 to plan a new transitional housing facility. These facilities would have freed up prison beds, which could have been used to either bring home inmates housed on the Mainland or prevent future inmates from being sent to the Mainland in the first place. However, in spite of Gov. Linda Lingle's promise to build two 500-bed substance-abuse treatment correctional facilities, plans were never followed through.

By 2003, the Legislature was frustrated at the lack of action by the governor and passed House Bill 298, Conference Draft 1, directing the executive branch to initiate the process to develop a correctional facility on the undeveloped portion on the site of the Halawa correctional facility. The goal was not only to provide additional prison bed capacity, but also to replace the state's largest jail — the aging, inadequate and overcrowded O'ahu Community Correctional Center.

Unfortunately, the governor vetoed this bill, dampening hope of any progress toward bringing home Hawai'i's incarcerated citizens. Calling the bill "unnecessary," Gov. Lingle protested that the bill limited her options.

In 2004, the Legislature tried to address the problem again by holding hearings on another bill to direct the governor to develop a 1,200-bed correctional treatment facility at Halawa. Once again, the executive branch opposed the bill; the bill died.

With more criminals receiving longer prison sentences, Hawai'i's four prisons cannot adequately house their current and future population without jeopardizing the safety of their staff and the general public. In 2005, new prisons weren't even mentioned in the governor's State of the State initiatives.

The Legislature will continue to seek ways to expand or replace jail facilities. Because the Maui, Big Island and O'ahu jails are built in populated areas where the surrounding city has grown around the jail, there are limited ways to expand these sites. In the long term, replacement facilities are the more cost-effective option. We must face these facts and be willing to make some tough choices.

As we head into the 2006 legislative session, we call upon the governor to put forth a plan to address overcrowding by replacing or building new facilities, including a transition plan for decreasing our dependence on out-of-state, contracted facilities.

We also implore the governor to stabilize leadership at the Department of Public Safety. Since December 2002, no fewer than five people have occupied the director's position. Hawai'i needs a permanent director who will make the commitment to oversee the development of new facilities and improved programs. The governor has also failed to appoint a deputy director for corrections; we urge her to do so with a qualified person to fill this important leadership position.

There are those who say, "They are criminals! Why should we care where they are imprisoned, as long as it's cheaper? Why should we be concerned about how they are treated?"

We should all be very concerned because 98 percent of all offenders will be released into the community after serving their sentence. They will return to our families, our workplaces and our neighborhoods. It is clear that programs that help prisoners stay connected to their families, receive substance-abuse treatment, and allow them to work while incarcerated greatly increase their chances of successfully reintegrating into society. And breaking the cycle of individuals going in and out of prison benefits all of us and strengthens our communities.

The Legislature has shown that it is willing to appropriate the funds needed for more prison facilities and more programs. If there is a significant state surplus, we believe that correctional facilities and programs should be elevated as a priority. These bold actions need to be accompanied with stronger planning and stable leadership coming from the executive branch.

Ken Ito , D-48th (Kane'ohe), is chairman of the House Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.