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

The Hawaiian Humane Society sends litters of kittens to the correctional facility every five weeks or so, where they are nursed to full strength by two women incarcerated there.

A measure introduced by Rep. Jeanné Kapela would mandate the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to meet benchmarks to return them to Hawai‘i facilities. HPR's Ashley Mizuo reports.

About 430 state correctional officer positions are vacant, DCR said in a state budget informational briefing Thursday — despite the department’s efforts to better advertise those jobs.

The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation wants the state Legislature to loosen a law that sets stronger regulations on the use of solitary confinement on incarcerated individuals.

Instead of having a law in place, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation only has an agency policy that advocates say is complicated and lengthy.

The Human Rights Defense Center is suing the Hawaiʻi Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for censorship. The center says the department has not allowed its educational publications, books and informational brochures to be delivered to inmates.

As the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation continues to consider how to replace the overcrowded and deteriorated OCCC, the Correctional System Oversight Commission is considering alternatives to a new, bigger jail.

The Honolulu Federal Detention Center could be back on the table to replace the deteriorating and overpopulated Oʻahu Community Correctional Center. HPR’s Ashley Mizuo reports that Gov. Josh Green has asked the Trump administration to consider allowing the state to acquire the underutilized federal prison.

Hawaiʻi lawmakers passed the state budget Wednesday that includes $30 million to complete the planning for a new jail to replace the deteriorating and overpopulated Oʻahu Community Correctional Center.

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.