REPORT TITLE:
Intermediate Sanctions


DESCRIPTION:
Continues funding for the following programs, which were created
by Act 25, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 1995:  integrated
community sanctions, electronic monitoring, drug treatment,
community reintegration, residential work-furlough, early parole,
and sex offender and substance abuse treatment.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.157
                                     
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO CRIME.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that rehabilitation
 
 2 programs that educate and prepare persons awaiting trial, after
 
 3 conviction, who are incarcerated or on parole, are critical to
 
 4 the future well-being of the community.  In addition, prompt
 
 5 handling of drug cases and more intensive judicial involvement
 
 6 with monitoring will help ensure the effectiveness of the system.
 
 7      The purpose of this Act is to address the issue of prison
 
 8 overcrowding at a time when budget considerations constrain
 
 9 investment in new prison facilities by:
 
10      (1)  Continuing the comprehensive schedule of alternatives
 
11           to incarceration established by Act 25, Special Session
 
12           Laws of Hawaii 1995; and
 
13      (2)  Continuing the rehabilitative and assistance programs
 
14           for arrestees and incarcerated persons established by
 
15           Act 25, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 1995.
 
16      SECTION 2.  The legislature finds that alternatives to
 
17 incarceration that do not undermine public safety include
 
18 intensive supervision of appropriate probationers that was proven
 
19 effective as a pilot project in the first circuit court several
 

 
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 1 years ago.  The integrated community sanctions program will
 
 2 implement this concept through structured intermediate sanctions
 
 3 established by the probation offices of the circuit courts for
 
 4 nonviolent offenders.  Targeted offenders include probation
 
 5 violators, who may not qualify under a drug diversion program,
 
 6 and sentenced felons or misdemeanants who commit nonviolent
 
 7 property offenses.  The program will provide community sanctions
 
 8 of house arrest, intensive supervision, and curfew using
 
 9 electronic monitoring devices.  To improve surveillance,
 
10 probation supervision operations will be decentralized, using
 
11 existing community sites such as rural district court facilities.
 
12 On Oahu, two teams of two officers each will:
 
13      (1)  Be dedicated to a specific geographic area;
 
14      (2)  Supervise approximately thirty-five offenders per team;
 
15           and
 
16      (3)  Conduct late evening surveillance as required.
 
17      SECTION 3.  The judiciary may establish an apppropriate
 
18 number of temporary positions for the purpose of implementing the
 
19 integrated community sanctions program described in section 2 for
 
20 each fiscal year 1999-2000 and 2000-2001.
 
21      SECTION 4.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
22 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        , or so much
 
23 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, and the
 

 
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 1 sum of $        , or so much thereof as may be necessary for
 
 2 fiscal year 2000-2001, for the integrated community sanctions
 
 3 program described in sections 2 and 3.
 
 4      SECTION 5.  The legislature finds that electronic monitoring
 
 5 is an effective alternative to incarceration when used to conduct
 
 6 after-hours curfew surveillance or house arrest restriction of
 
 7 pretrial detainees.  The department of public safety currently
 
 8 operates seventy electronic monitoring units statewide through
 
 9 central intake service.  Pretrial detainees constitute more than
 
10 half of the Oahu community correctional center population.  It is
 
11 necessary to increase the number of units to be used as court
 
12 ordered conditions of pretrial supervised release of bail.
 
13 Providing seventy additional electronic monitoring units and the
 
14 creation of two teams to provide surveillance for these units
 
15 will enhance this pretrial alternative to incarceration and
 
16 ensure prompt apprehension upon violation.
 
17      SECTION 6.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
18 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        , or so much
 
19 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, and the
 
20 sum of $        , or so much thereof as may be necessary for
 
21 fiscal year 2000-2001, for the electronic monitoring and
 
22 surveillance program described in section 5.
 
23      SECTION 7.  The legislature finds that early intervention of
 

 
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 1 drug treatment for nonviolent drug offenders is an essential part
 
 2 of the drug court concept and will divert offenders from jail
 
 3 into residential or appropriate out-patient treatment programs
 
 4 upon initial detention.  The department of public safety, the
 
 5 offices of prosecuting attorneys, and the drug court in the first
 
 6 circuit and other courts, as appropriate, may identify the
 
 7 substance abuser after arrest, assess the extent of addiction,
 
 8 determine the level of treatment needed, and refer the individual
 
 9 to a substance abuse program until clinical discharge with
 
10 approval of the appropriate authority.  Failure to successfully
 
11 complete drug treatment will result in increasing sanctions,
 
12 including incarceration.
 
13      Many pretrial detainees currently qualify for such a program
 
14 but none are available because of limited resources.  The
 
15 legislature therefore finds it necessary to fund drug treatment
 
16 programs for offenders diverted from jail on supervised release
 
17 by the courts and in connection with programs of deferred
 
18 prosecution that may be established by offices of prosecuting
 
19 attorneys in the various circuits.  It is anticipated that at
 
20 least forty-eight pretrial offenders per year will be diverted to
 
21 drug treatment in connection with the first circuit drug court.
 
22 The department of public safety estimates that forty-eight other
 
23 offenders in the first year, and ninety-six in the second year of
 

 
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 1 the biennium would be eligible for diversion through deferred
 
 2 prosecution programs.
 
 3      SECTION 8.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
 4 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        , or so much
 
 5 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, and the
 
 6 sum of $        , or so much thereof as may be necessary for
 
 7 fiscal year 2000-2001, for the drug treatment programs described
 
 8 in section 7.
 
 9      SECTION 9.  The legislature finds that the primary mission
 
10 of the State's correctional function is the protection of the
 
11 public.  One way this protection is achieved is through programs
 
12 that prepare inmates for successful reintegration into the
 
13 community after their release from incarceration.  Without this
 
14 preparation, most inmates will have great difficulty in
 
15 establishing meaningful, productive, crime-free lives.  Upon
 
16 entry into prison, approximately sixty per cent of the inmates
 
17 are functionally illiterate, most have no real vocational skills,
 
18 and eighty-five per cent have a history of substance abuse.  The
 
19 number of inmates who are sex offenders is growing rapidly.
 
20      Unless programs are available to address these issues, these
 
21 inmates cannot safely be released into the community.  The Hawaii
 
22 paroling authority has found that a large majority of parole
 
23 violations are attributable to substance abuse.  In addition,
 

 
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 1 many sex offenders are not adequately prepared for release into
 
 2 the community because of limited treatment opportunities in
 
 3 prison, and thus must remain incarcerated, contributing to
 
 4 overcrowding.
 
 5      The legislature therefore finds that correctional programs
 
 6 need to be properly funded to:
 
 7      (1)  Protect the public;
 
 8      (2)  Alleviate overcrowding; and
 
 9      (3)  Give inmates the opportunity to successfully return to
 
10           the community.
 
11      SECTION 10.  The department of public safety may establish
 
12 appropriate temporary positions for inmate basic education and
 
13 vocational programs; the purchase of services for medically
 
14 disabled inmates in the sex offender treatment program; personnel
 
15 costs for surveillance groups in the sex offender treatment
 
16 program; personnel costs, other current expenses, and equipment
 
17 for the assessment center of the sex offender treatment program;
 
18 and personnel costs and other current expenses for substance
 
19 abuse programs, described in section 9 for each fiscal year 1999-
 
20 2000 and 2000-2001.
 
21      SECTION 11.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
22 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        , or so much
 
23 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, and the
 

 
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 1 sum of $        , or so much thereof as may be necessary for
 
 2 fiscal year 2000-2001, for the community reintegration programs
 
 3 described in sections 9 and 10.
 
 4      SECTION 12.  The Hawaii paroling authority is limited in
 
 5 program options by the lack of alternatives for a parolee who is
 
 6 employed but who is violating technical conditions of the
 
 7 parolee's parole.  Current practice is to return the parolee to
 
 8 custody for up to ninety days, due to high caseloads, rather than
 
 9 providing extensive daily supervision and keeping the parolee out
 
10 of custody.  In this situation, the parolee invariably loses the
 
11 parolee's job, reducing the chances of successful parole
 
12 completion.
 
13      In fiscal year 1994, approximately thirty per cent or
 
14 eighty-six technical parole violators could have utilized a
 
15 structured residential program in lieu of revocation and
 
16 reincarceration.  Many are drug users who must be removed from
 
17 their current environment to abstain from drugs and enter
 
18 treatment.  This can be accomplished at the residential facility.
 
19      The legislature finds it is more practical and financially
 
20 responsible to place these employed parolees in a residential
 
21 facility with work release than to return these offenders to
 
22 prison.
 
23      SECTION 13.  There is appropriated out of the general
 

 
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 1 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        , or so much
 
 2 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, and the
 
 3 sum of $        , or so much thereof as may be necessary for
 
 4 fiscal year 2000-2001, for the residential work-furlough program
 
 5 described in section 12.
 
 6      SECTION 14.  With the necessary additional staffing, the
 
 7 Hawaii paroling authority could parole, in addition to the normal
 
 8 predicted parole releases, approximately one hundred sixty
 
 9 inmates who are within one year of completion of their minimum
 
10 sentence expiration dates and who have a suitable parole plan,
 
11 and whose conduct while institutionalized has been above average
 
12 and who are classified minimum or community security.  Inmates
 
13 would be screened by the Hawaii paroling authority and the
 
14 department of public safety.  By providing additional staff and
 
15 funds for drug testing, electronic monitoring, and treatment, the
 
16 increased caseload of these parolees should not compromise public
 
17 safety.
 
18      SECTION 15.  The department of public safety may establish
 
19 an appropriate number of temporary positions for the purpose of
 
20 implementing the early parole program described in section 14 for
 
21 each fiscal year 1999-2000 and 2000-2001.
 
22      SECTION 16.  The department of public safety may establish
 
23 an appropriate number of temporary full-time positions to serve
 

 
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 1 as parole officers under the Hawaii paroling authority for the
 
 2 purpose of implementing the early parole program described in
 
 3 section 14 for each fiscal year 1999-2000 and 2000-2001.
 
 4      SECTION 17.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
 5 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        , or so much
 
 6 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, and the
 
 7 sum of $        , or so much thereof as may be necessary for
 
 8 fiscal year 2000-2001, for the early parole program described in
 
 9 sections 14, 15, and 16.
 
10      SECTION 18.  Without continued treatment while on parole,
 
11 sex offenders will pose a significant danger to the community.
 
12 Similarly, drug-dependent offenders crave illegal substances and
 
13 will do almost anything to continue their addiction.  Without
 
14 substance abuse treatment, they will pose a continuing threat to
 
15 the community. In addition, an estimated eighty per cent (or two
 
16 hundred twenty-nine) of parole violators who returned to prison
 
17 are due to drug related activities.  Without substance abuse
 
18 treatment while in the community, drug dependent offenders pose a
 
19 risk to the community safety and are more likely to fail parole
 
20 and be incarcerated.
 
21      SECTION 19.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
22 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        , or so much
 
23 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, and the
 

 
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 1 sum of $        , or so much thereof as may be necessary for
 
 2 fiscal year 2000-2001, for the sex offender and substance abuse
 
 3 treatment services described in section 18.
 
 4      SECTION 20.  The sums appropriated shall be expended by the
 
 5 department of public safety for the purposes of this Act.
 
 6      SECTION 21.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.
 
 7 
 
 8                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________
 
 9 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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