THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            186
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO INVESTIGATE THE ALLEGED LACK OF
    AVAILABLE PSYCHIATRIC CARE WITHIN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES.



 1        WHEREAS, in 1888, prison officials for the Kingdom of
 2   Hawaii reported that many Chinese prisoners were found to be
 3   suffering from habitual opium use upon entering Oahu Prison;
 4   and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, in 1888, prison officials suggested that:
 7   
 8        (1)  All prisoners be graded according to the nature of
 9             their offenses;
10   
11        (2)  Persons convicted of heinous crimes be separated from
12             those who have committed lighter offenses; and
13   
14        (3)  Young men committed for slight offenses be separated
15             from those whose lives are hardened in sin, to better
16             the chances of reforming young criminals;
17   
18   and
19   
20        WHEREAS, in 1898, prison officials suggested that a
21   reformatory school for young girls be established to avoid
22   having to send them to the prison in the company of women of
23   the lowest and most degraded types; and
24   
25        WHEREAS, for more than one hundred years, prison officials
26   for the Kingdom of Hawaii, the Territory of Hawaii, and the
27   State of Hawaii have known that:
28   
29        (1)  Many prisoners suffer from habitual drug abuse upon
30             entering prison; and
31   
32        (2)  Mixing nonviolent habitual drug abusers with hardened
33             violent criminals lessens the former's chances of
34             reform;
35   
36   and

 
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 1   
 2        WHEREAS, a large percentage of Hawaii's prisoners are
 3   habitual drug abusers who committed nonviolent crimes to
 4   support their uncontrollable drug habits; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, there has been a growing trend to confine and
 7   punish nonviolent offenders, including habitual drug abusers,
 8   rather than provide for their treatment and rehabilitation; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, because of prison overcrowding, this trend has
11   the potential to create hardened criminals with the propensity
12   for committing violent acts upon their release from prison; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, reducing the rate of recidivism among habitual
15   drug abusers could lessen the public's intense desire to
16   confine and punish nonviolent offenders; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, incarcerating nonviolent habitual drug abusers
19   without providing for their rehabilitation, through
20   psychotherapy and psychopharmacology:
21   
22        (1)  Lessens their chances for reform;
23   
24        (2)  Increases their likelihood of recidivism;
25   
26        (3)  Ensures perpetual prison overcrowding; and
27   
28        (4)  Contributes to the creation of violent criminals;
29   
30   and
31   
32        WHEREAS, one out of every six prisoners confined to the
33   Halawa Correctional Facility and the Waiawa Correctional
34   Facility, both of which house sentenced felons, is on
35   psychotropic medication and requires psychotherapy; and
36   
37        WHEREAS, substance abuse counseling alone may be
38   insufficient to overcome the psychological disability or
39   physiological dependence caused by years of habitual drug
40   abuse, or the years of psychological trauma or abuse that led
41   to habitual drug abuse; and
42   
43        WHEREAS, three years ago, the Halawa Correctional Facility
44   and the Waiawa Correctional Facility had a staff of four to six
45   psychiatrists and psychologists, and several social workers.
46   Today there is just one psychiatrist and one social worker to
47   attend to the needs of approximately 250 prisoners requiring
48   some form of psychiatric care; now, therefore,
49   

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            186
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 2   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
 3   Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to
 4   investigate the alleged lack of available psychiatric care
 5   within the State's correctional facilities; and
 6   
 7        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to
 8   determine whether the needs of prisoners requiring some form of
 9   psychiatric care are being met and, if not, what amount of
10   funding and kind of staffing would be necessary to meet these
11   needs with not more than a sixty-day waiting period; and
12   
13        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to
14   submit any findings and recommendations to the Legislature not
15   less than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular
16   Session of 2001; and
17   
18        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
19   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and the
20   Director of Public Safety.
21   
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25                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________