5 days ago
New jail funding faces community pushback
HONOLULU (KHON2) — A new jail in Hawaiʻi has many voicing their opposition as people rallied and signed a petition to the governor against it.
The Reimagining Public Safety Coalition is asking Gov. Josh Green to veto House Bill 300, which gives $30 million for a facility to replace the Oʻahu Community Recreational Center.
North Shore community members discuss gondola plans
'Spend a billion dollars on a new super jail to replace OCCC or implement more cost effective solutions that address the real issues that are at the heart of the crisis we see in our streets,' said Liam Chin of Reimagining Public Safety Coalition. 'Our criminal justice issues are primarily driven by a public health and affordable housing crisis.'
They say the jail population can be reduced through diversion of restorative services and through pre-trial reform.'We have to make sure that we improve our facilities, because some of them are just, you know, very badly degraded,' Green said. 'It's a curious thing to petition me, because I've been constantly talking about making sure that we do restorative justice and that we are healing.'
The State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says a new triple-C is essential and would actually help expand its programs to meet its visions of restorative justice and rehabilitation.
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