Hawaii corrections officials are seeking more than $2.6 million in funding to hire nearly three dozen new health care workers, including psychiatrists and nurses, to improve mental health services in the state’s correctional system. This funding request is part of a settlement of a class action lawsuit addressing alarming suicide rates in Hawaii prisons and jails.
Suicide rates in Hawaii’s correctional system are abnormally high. Confirmed or suspected suicides accounted for more than half of all deaths at Hālawa Correctional Facility—the state’s largest prison—where eight of 15 deaths in the past two years were suicides. Statewide during 2024 and 2025, suicides accounted for one-third of all deaths in the correctional system. This is unusual; data shows suicides account for only 8% of all deaths in state and federal prisons across the country, the most recent figure available from 2019. Additionally, deaths caused by drug overdoses, homicides, and suicides amounted to 50-61% of total fatalities in Hawaii system jails over the two-year period.
DCR Director Tommy Johnson plans to implement a new assessment algorithm to identify which inmates are at high risk for suicide and to use ankle bracelets to electronically monitor biometric data of at-risk prisoners to provide early warning if they are in crisis. He told lawmakers the department also tentatively plans to request money for that equipment next year. The new funding would include six psychiatrists, nine nurse practitioners with expertise in mental health, and 18 additional registered nurses. A dozen of those positions will staff an infirmary being created at the O’ahu Community Correctional Center. Staffing shortages significantly contribute to the problem: Hawaii had 435 vacant corrections officer positions out of 1,535 total at the end of November, representing a 28% vacancy rate. Locked-down inmates miss programs, recreation, and family visits—all recognized as suicide prevention strategies.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://us.headtopics.com/news/hawaii-corrections-officials-seeking-millions-in-funding-to-79896867