Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (formerly Department of Public Safety)

A former guard has pleaded guilty to mailing illegal aerial fireworks to Hawaiʻi's largest jail in 2022. Gilchrist Fernandez's guilty plea comes as Hawaiʻi authorities grapple with challenges in enforcing existing laws after a deadly New Year's fireworks blast at a Honolulu home. The ex-guard faces up to three months imprisonment at sentencing scheduled for June.

Gov. Josh Green’s new budget requests $30 million to plan the new jail to replace the dilapidated Oʻahu Community Correctional Center. The Department of Corrections began working on plans for the new jail over seven years ago.

Following a state shortage of correctional officers, the Department of Corrections will graduate 18 officers on Friday. A campaign to fill the 400 vacancies in the department faces was released this month.

More than 100 million gallons of fuel have been drained from the Navy Red Hill underground fuel facility, but residual fumes could still pose a risk to workers and neighboring communities. Kathleen Ho, the deputy environmental director for the state Department of Health, said health officials raised those concerns with the Navy.

Local artists and inmates unveiled life-size murals at Hawaiʻi's only women's prison, located in Windward Oʻahu. One mural featuring at least 20 species of marine life is roughly 18 feet tall and 50 feet wide. The project hopes to promote tranquility and liveliness. HPR's Cassie Ordonio reports.

Several inmates at the Halawa Correctional Facility on Oʻahu received their associate degrees in May through a program offered by Chaminade University. Among them was Big Island native Kelson Akeo.

With more than 300 vacancies for adult corrections officers, the Department of Public Safety is looking at ways to get new staffing. Vacancies lead to overtime costs. In 2021, the state spent around $29.4 million in overtime for the department. This year, they're on track to spend $37 million in overtime. HPR's Sabrina Bodon reports.

Three essential worker groups are trying to branch off and make their own units this session, including emergency dispatchers, adult correction officers and the Honolulu Emergency Services Department. HPR's Sabrina Bodon reports.

A group is hosting vigils outside of an O’ahu prison during Lent because they can’t get the OK to go inside. Staffing shortages over the years have presented the need to prioritize security over some other nonessential services, including chapel. HPR’s Sabrina Bodon reports on how this came to be.

As the state bifurcates the Department of Public Safety into two departments, some of the functions will remain the same, but some operations will transfer into the new Department of Law Enforcement.