Kauaʻi voters have until Dec. 18 to decide who will be the county’s next prosecuting attorney. Here's a look at one of the two candidates — Kauaʻi’s acting prosecutor Rebecca Like.
Rebecca Like started her legal career in Maui as a clerk for a Circuit Court judge. But for the last 11 years, she has served as a deputy prosecutor on Kauaʻi.
She served under her opponent Shaylene Iseri for the first two years and spent the last nine with former prosecuting attorney Justin Kollar.
When Kollar stepped down earlier this year, Like was named the county’s acting prosecuting attorney.
Like says her experience has given her a good understanding of the issues affecting Kauaʻi’s communities.
"During my time at the office, I’ve done trials in every courtroom. I’ve done from DUI or OBUII trials, as we call them here, to sex assault cases," she said. "I’ve handled murder cases. So I’ve done all of those things, as well as being a supervisor in the office, and handling day-to-day administrative tasks."
Hawaiʻi Public Radio also profiled Kauaʻi prosecuting attorney candidate Shaylene Iseri.
Like says three major issues are impacting Kauai.
One is the cost of living. She says while it isn’t a law enforcement issue, economic inequality does increase the likelihood of someone coming into contact with the criminal justice system.
Another main issue is drugs, especially fentanyl.
"Most recently, we’ve seen an increase in fentanyl overdoses and deaths. It’s been a little bit late to arrive to Kauaʻi, but now it’s forefront on people’s minds – dealing with fentanyl," she said. "Also, domestic violence is also an issue here, as it is in other places, and there’s no size fits all solution to any of those issues."
If elected, Like says one of her priorities will be addressing the county’s drug epidemic.
But because Kauaʻi doesn’t have a treatment center, she says continuing and expanding programs and resources are important.
Among the programs Like and department staff are working on is helping addicts with medical assisted treatment. She says the program helps people addicted to opiates get medical treatment to taper off their addiction and prevent relapse.
Thirdly, Like says she aims to create and continue programs that put people on the best path for success.
One program that Like would like to expand is providing cell phone access for those released from jail or prison. She says this program helps individuals without a cell phone be able to try and get a job.
"The biggest predictor of success for folks is having some sort of support system. And a lot of the folks that we’re dealing with in our office don’t have that support system," Like told Hawaiʻi Public Radio. "So just giving them a little bit of a step up, helps them stop coming into contact with the criminal justice system."
"The reality is our jails are full. There is no room to put more people in jail. I don’t think anybody wants to pay a huge bill to build a multi-million dollar jail on Kauaʻi. So we need to learn to deal with what we have with the resources that we have," Like said.
Like says one way to refer people to these programs and resources is through the police department or partner agencies.
She hopes a treatment center will be built on Kauaʻi to help address the county’s growing drug problem.
But if elected, Like says she’ll continue to build on the office’s efforts over the last nine years — while also building and maintaining a good team.
"We've built a system of processing cases, our team works well together," she said. "There's people who are really committed to the goal of the office, which is a lofty one — pursuing justice in every case... We've really been able to build and retain a solid team."
Like acknowledges that some may disagree with her office's handling of cases. But she says the prosecutor's job is different from the police department's.
"The police department's job is to enforce the law, and the prosecutor's role is to pursue justice," she said. "And although those things typically align, they don't always align. Sometimes there's differences of opinion as to what charges should be pursued, what charges shouldn't be pursued. And sometimes there's kind of a personal conflict that arises in those situations."
