Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 1, 1 January 1997 — Native Hawaiian inmates [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Native Hawaiian inmates

— They are the majority in Hawaivi prisons, a minority in the state

by Keili Meskin There are too many native Hawaiians in the Hawai'i state prison system. Hawaiian men, Hawaiian women and Hawaiian youths. Native Hawaiians make up 38 percent of

the sentenced felon populahon in the prisons for FY 93-94. That means of the nearly 2,500 prisoners about 1,000 are Hawaiian. Native Hawaiian youths are arrested more than any other race in violent crimes except for murder, according to the v 94-95 Native Hawaiian Data book. Hawaiian youths comprised 51 percent of the population in the Hawai'i Youth Correc-

tional Facility (HYCF) for the fiscal year v 94-95. Yet, . Hawaiians represent only 20 percent of the total population in Hawai'i. Historically minorities have dominated the prison system, said Maureen Tito, the education program manager for the Department of Public Safety. The Irish were over-represented in the prisons at one time and after them the Polish and then the Italians, Tito said.

"It's really a social issue more than anything else," Tito said. Dr. Gene Kassebaum, a professor in criminology and sociology at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa did a recent study for Alu Like,-an organization whieh provides employment and other services to Hawaiians. The study is called "Criminal Justice and Hawaiians in the 1990's: Ethnic Differences in Imprisonment Rates in the State of Hawai'i." "Hawaiians, Samoans and to some extent Filipino and African-Americans are all overrepresented in the prisons," Kassebaum said. The report's aim was to determine whether Hawaiian ancestry is a factor in being arrested, convicted and imprisoned. Hawaiians were overrepresented in circuit court felony crimes and among probationers, and they are also less likely to have charges dropped or reduced than any other ethnic group and "overall, Hawaiians were more Ukely to get some jail or prison time than non-Hawaiians," the study found. The report suggests

eeonomie status as a factor in the large percentage of native Hawaiians in the prison system. Kassebaum's report says that "the increasing numbers of Hawaiians imprisoned have created costs and problems for the eommunity...For the Hawaiian adults to be nearly 15.5

percent (others say 20 percent) of the populahon and 39.4 percent of the prisoners is too great a disparity to be ignored." Wilham Ornellas, a member of the Native Hawaiian Bar Association, warns there's no easy answer. "To say Hawaiians are dysfunctional because of x-y-z is oversimplified," said Ornellas, also a chairman of a consortium on Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System. "It's a multilayered, multifaceted problem." The number of Hawaiians being arrested is average among other races in Hawai'i. More Hawaiians go to jail though. The sentenced-felon rate for

r adults of Hawauan ancestry is very high. "lts a systematic problem," Ornellas said. "Most of the data show Hawaiian arrests are — ' not disproportionate to the number or Hawaiians in prison." According to Ornellas three main problems exist: • Most of the time Hawaiians cannot make Continued on page 6

"Most of the data show Hawaiian arrests are not disproportionate to the number of Hawaiians in prison." William Ornellas, Native Hawaiian Bar Association

Causes and solutions for native Hawaiians in prison Two years ago, participants at a conference on Native Hawaiians in the justice system listed the system itself as the reason Hawaiians are overrepresented. The conference organizers brought together members from the Legislature, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, probation officers, poliee officers, providers of social services for Native Hawaiians and others. Work groups Iooked into such topics as arrests, courts, sentencing, corrections and parole. Work groups considered the causes, solutions and strategies to reduce the number of Hawaiians in the eiiminal justice system. The causes they chose, in order or importance, were: 1) Issues within the criminal justice system itself 2) Negative behavior of individual Native Hawaiians 3) Dysfunctional famihes 4) Factors related to lower socio-economic status 5) Issue related to culture 6) Other (laek of education, community involvement, education and employment, and problems with existing programs, society in general, substance abuse and racism) The solutions they chose, in order or importance, were: 1) Changes to, or more services in, the criminal justice system 2) More assistance to famihes 3) Enhancing existing programs 4) More culturally appropriate services 5) Alternative education programs 6) More treatment / behavior training 7) More prevention programs 8) Others (increase community involvement, more substance abuse treatment programs, etc.)

— Using Hawaiian culture as refuge in times of trouble

Native Hawaiians in prison

eonūnueā from pg. 1 — bail. • They are often served by public defenders who negotiate (plea bargain) cases because they are overwhelmed and don't have time to go to trial on eaeh one. • Drug abuse, aleohol abuse and domestic violence are major issues.

"Put all three together and the number of Native Hawaiians in the justice system increases fast," Ornellas said. In 1991, 90 percent of felony charges never got to court; they were decided by administration (probation officers, deputy prosecutors, public defenders, etc.) and through negotiations between lawyers, not verdicts of ju4gys jliries. The Honolulu Prosecutor's office says there's no bias in

who gets tried. "We prosecute people on — Maureen TitO what they do, not by what race Education Program they are," said Doug Woo, the Manager Department of executive assistant to Keith Public Safety. Kaneshiro, the retiring City ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Prosecutor. "We don't look at crime as a racial issue but as a criminal issue." Ornellas and others, such as Mahealani Kamauu, do what they ean to turn the tide. Kamauu, the executive director for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and loeal poet, saw childhood friends turn to drugs and lose control. "I felt so bad, these were my playmates and they were so close to me," she said. She held on to the eonneehon she had with them and wanted to help somehow when she saw that they couldn't eope with hfe.

She joined a group called the Social Action Committee but j feels she f accomplished S nothing. She £ hasn't quit f trying. Through y her poetry and time she ean 1 spare, Kamauu » does what she ean. "I just try to work with what * they tell me they I need," she says. Her poetry W reveals an intimate look at a few Hawaiian inmates. The image is of

strong Hawaiian men who, when taken away from their culture, are broken. "Where is the plaee for our men? Where is the plaee for our women?" Kamauu asks. "The things we value are emasculating our men. They don't have a plaee anymore, the way they fit into society is being redefined," she says. "In more traditional societies men ean be warriors, but it means different things in modern society." Kamauu believes it is hard for native Hawaiian men to adapt to today's lifestyle and be successful. "A lot of these men give up," Tito says. "It's really tough to break old patterns and friends, especially in Hawai'i because it's such a small plaee." Too many of our men are struggling with not being ■

able to provide for their families and as a result they feel less worthy and that they may not succeed, Kamauu said. According to the 1994 report done by Kassebaum, native Hawaiians are over represented in the area of low ineome. Inmates say they remember their grandparents telling them about Hawaiian cultural values and stories when they were young. Ornellas believes using

those cultural values and ways of hfe ean help prisoners break away from the criminal system. Ornellas has used the ho'oponopono process to counsel couples through divorce. The process was also created as an option for Hawaiians in family court disputes. Because of the positive results, it was the first program implemented in an Action Plan created by a consortium on Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System. Ornellas is the chairman of the Consortium whieh created the Action Plan in 1995. The Action Plan Projects are based in the Hawaiian culture and utilize traditional practices such as hula, lōkahi

and the bonding ot 'ohana through cultural counseling. Using cultural standards is useful, Tito said. "We all have roots, we all were raised in a context of culture," said Tito, the prison's educator. Ornellas refers to the ancient kapu against slapping a child in the head because of the cultural belief in piko,

or spiritual eonneehon. The piko on the top of a child's head is the eonneehon to the past and one's ancestors. To strike a child's head, Ornellas says, is not only harmful but also an insult to their ancestors. He believes Hawaiian values and traditions have a plaee in our society. "We ean use legendary customs today and it could cut down on child abuse cases," he says. Being able to speak their own language is important, being in touch with themselves through hula and being able to study history and being involved with k upuna help inmates learn about culture and stability, Tito adds. "It's all a part of healing, If they have that opportunity they become rooted and if they are rooted I don't think they'll eome back to prison," she says. The rate of recidivism is mostly due to technical violations, Tito said, "it's mostly being able to handle life on the outside." Being called back to prison for curfew, drugs, or not checking in are

minor violations, but if inmates can't be responsible enough to follow these rules they may not be stable. Only four percent of prisoners out on parole commit new crimes Tito says. "Onee Hawaiians have a strong political base, I think you'll see the numbers go down," Tito said. i

"lt's all a part of healing, lf they have that opportunity they become rooted and if they are rooted I don't think they'll eome back to prison."

"We prosecute people on what they do, not by what race they are. — Doug Woo Executive Assistant to the City Prosecutor

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