Dear Governor Green, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Hawaiʻi Legislators,

We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, oppose building a $1 billion jail on Oʻahu to incarcerate 1,200+ of our neighbors, friends, and family. We call for an immediate moratorium on jail planning and the adoption of a "Care First, Jail Last" approach to public safety.

Conditions at the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) are unacceptable, and we strongly support spending to eliminate overcrowding and improve conditions. However, the Director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) has publicly acknowledged that most people sitting in jail today should not be there.

Hawaii’s incarceration rate is among the highest globally, with Native Hawaiians disproportionately affected—a direct result of systemic issues that this proposed jail will not fix.

At least 40% of people in our jails are houseless, and 50-60% end up back in jail or prison within one year.

Approximately 61% of people in our jails are held pretrial—meaning they have not been convicted of a crime but often sit in jail simply because they cannot afford bail. Pretrial detention dramatically increases the likelihood of future incarceration and worsens outcomes for individuals and families.

There’s a clear consensus among key justice system actors in Hawaiʻi that diverting people suffering from mental illness and substance abuse into housing and services will significantly reduce the jail population and recidivism, not to mention save millions in taxpayer dollars.  

However, this mandate is falling far short due to severe underfunding of diversion infrastructure.

Adequately funding diversion and ending cash bail will significantly reduce the jail population and eliminate the need for a new and bigger jail while increasing equal protection in the criminal legal system.

The new jail is estimated to cost taxpayers $1 billion, and Hawaiʻi already spends $307 a day or over $110,000 a year to incarcerate one adult. This spending on a failed policy of mass incarceration is ineffective and wasteful. We can achieve better public safety outcomes by implementing proven reforms at a fraction of the cost.

Hawaiʻi must invest in data-driven criminal reform policies to reduce the incarcerated population: diversion measures, decriminalizing minor offenses, sentencing reform, increased pre-arrest/pretrial diversion, eliminating cash bail, and parole/probation reform that prohibits re-incarceration for technical violations of supervision.  

Communities with stable housing, living wage jobs, accessible healthcare, and good schools have the lowest crime rates. Rather than a $1 billion jail, Hawaiʻi must fund an expansion of community-based mental health care, a range of supportive housing options, job training, restorative and traditional healing practices, and youth programs—proven strategies that cost significantly less and prevent future incarceration.

We urge Governor Green, the DCR, and the Hawaiʻi Legislature to withhold the $30 million allocated for new jail planning in the 2025 budget bill, halt jail planning, and fund data-driven solutions that are proven to create safer, healthier, and more just communities. 

View the Reimagining Public Safety Budget Recommendations for the State of Hawaiʻi 2025 at bit.ly/hisafetycoalition.