Two privately run Arizona prisons housing Hawaii inmates are safe and improving their services to inmates, said a Hawaii state senator who toured the facilities.
Sen. Will Espero, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said he was “pleased” with the prisons’ progress despite some problems.
Seven inmates were accidentally released in August, and two managers had quit two days beforehand with complaints of poor management, inadequate facilities and lack of staffing.
“I think we are moving in the right direction,” said Espero, D-Ewa-Ewa Beach-Lower Waipahu.
Espero was joined by Sen. Clarence Nishihara, D-Waipahu, Sen. Norman Sakamoto, D-Salt Lake-Foster Village, and Hawaii prison officials on his inspection of the prisons run by Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3.
The two prisons in Eloy, Ariz. —Saguaro and Red Rock prisons — house about 1,800 Hawaii inmates under a $50 million contract with the state. About half of Hawaii’s prison population is held out of state because the islands lack enough space to detain them.
The group asked the warden how the inmates’ doors could have been released by mistake.
The warden told them that an employee accidentally pushed a button, and authorities have corrected the problem by now opening doors manually.
“Safety wasn’t a big issue,” Espero said. “Generally these two facilities appear to be well-operated and don’t have major safety problems.”
Official: Prisons are experiencing ‘growing pains’
But the facilities are going through some “growing pains,” said Tommy Johnson, deputy director of the Public Safety Department.
About 300 inmates are moving into Saguaro Correction Center each month, a $95 million, 1,896-bed medium-security prison that opened in June and will hold a majority of Hawaii prisoners by the end of the year.
Plumbing and college courses still haven’t started at the prisons, and other programs have long waiting lists.
Johnson said authorities want to expand the video conferencing available at four faith-based organizations on Oahu and one on Maui to include Kauai and the Big Island to allow Hawaii inmates to keep in touch with relatives at home.
During a lunch meeting with prisoners, they told Espero they would like to have more jobs and vocational training.
Gangs didn’t appear to be a problem, Espero said.
He plans to return within a year to see whether the programs have been expanded to give more opportunities to prisoners. He also is considering creating a position of a contract monitor to be on site and work as a prisoner advocate.
“We want this to be a prison where they are bettering themselves,” Espero said.

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