Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 10, 1 October 2010 — NEW OHA REPORT: NATIVE HAWAIIAN8 SUFFER DISPARITIES IN STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NEW OHA REPORT: NATIVE HAWAIIAN8 SUFFER DISPARITIES IN STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

By Lisa Asato KaWai Ola \ative Hawaiians are more likely to be sent to prison and for longer periods of time than nearly every other racial or ethnic community in Hawai'i - and the disproportionate impacts they encounter in the state criminal justice system accumulates at eaeh step, from arrest to incarceration to release and parole. That's according to a new report released by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Tlie Disparate Treatment ofNative Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System, available for download at www.oha.org/dis paratetreatment. "The troubling and sad eonelusions of this report show what many of us feared was happening, whieh is that the state criminal justice system treats Native Hawaiians in a disparate way," OHA CEO Clyde Nāmu'o said at a Sept. 28 press conference in the OHA boardroom attended by OHA Trustees, members of the report's advisory group and stakeholders. UH Professor James Spencer, who worked on the study, said the report shows that when Native Hawaiians enter the criminal justice system it's not a matter of serving time, being released and getting on with their lives. "It becomes a lifelong relationship," he said. Without a sufficient number of culturally appropriate services,

Native Hawaiians are not given the best ehanee at achieving success upon re-entry into the community, the report found. Other key findings of the study, whieh was done over three years by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Justice Policy Institute, Georgetown University and the University of Hawai'i, include: • Native Hawaiians comprise 24 percent of the state's populahon but almost 40 percent of its incarcerated population. • Of those serving a prison term in Hawai'i, about 50 percent are housed in facilities on the mainland. Of this populahon, about 41 percent are Native Hawaiian, the most highly represented group. • Native Hawaiians do not use drugs at drastically different rates compared to other races or ethnicities, but Native Hawaiians go to prison for drug offenses more often than people of other races or ethnicities. • Upon release from prison, Native Hawaiians experience barriers that prevent them from participating in certain jobs, obtaining a driver's license, voting, continuing education, obtaining housing and keeping a family together. • Native Hawaiians are more likely to be incarcerated as opposed to be given probation compared to other races or ethnicities. Lawrence Okinaga, a partner at Carlsmith Ball who has practiced law for more than 37 years, said the report calls into question the credibility of the criminal jus-

tice system, whieh is tainted if the public can't expect objectivity. A self-described "lifelong proponent of judicial independence," he called the report's findings "sad news for me personally." "I hope that this study will prompt people to do more to be sensitive to these issues and to make sure that our judicial system as it exists today will eonhnue to thrive on a basis of full confidence of the public," he said. Richard Naiwieha Wurdeman said the report echoes his experiences over more than 17 years as an attorney representing Native Hawaiians. He said the Lingle administration's practice of sending Hawai'i's prisoners out-of-state is devastating to families and a barrier to rehabilitation and should be stopped under the next govemor. He also said the report underscores the need for more Native Hawaiian judges and having cultural awareness be a component of judicial selection. The 100-page report - the first under OHA's new Research Line of Business under Director Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe, whieh was led by Nalani Takushi - details how Native Hawaiians are disproportionately impacted at various stages of Hawai'i's criminal justice systemand includes firsthand accounts of Native Hawaiian concems with the criminal justice system and how it affects their families and their culture. Attomey Yuklin Aluli called the study's findings "mueh akin to institutional racism." She was especially

concemed with the impact on ehildren, with the study showing that Native Hawaiian children account for 50 percent of the youth in juvenile facilities and that Native Hawaiian women account for 44 percent of the state's women prisoners. Aluli, who has seen firsthand how the system affects children of incarcerated parents, commended OHA for doing the study. "Now we know what we're looking at," she said, adding, "And I am sure that this community with the leadership of the Native Hawaiian community is going to change this direction because we cannot keep going like this. There is no Hawai'i if our Hawaiian community is in this situation." The report provides a number of recommendations to reduce the unfair impact of the justice system on Native Hawaiians, including: • Reform the criminal justice system in Hawai'i to embrace the cultural values of Native Hawaiians. • Develop a targeted plan to reduce racial disparities and create a task force to oversee implementation. • Reduce the punitive nature of the criminal justice system and fund community-based alternatives to

incarceration, including prevention programs. • Reduce barriers to education, housing, employment and parental rights that increase the likelihood of future imprisonment, whieh in tum further destabilizes families and communities. OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona said the Office of Hawaiian Affairs brought the idea for a study to the state Legislature in 2009, whieh supported the idea via House Concurrent Resolution 27. The report will be submitted to lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session. OHA will also seek legislation to create a task force to review the report's findings and recommendations and formulate policies and procedures to eliminate the disparate treatment of Native Hawaiians in the criminal justice system in Hawai'i, CEO Nāmu'o said, adding, "We look forward to working with our partners in the criminal justice system and throughout the greater community to correct these wrongs to help create a healthier society that brings stability to both Native Hawaiians and the general community." ■

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Kat Brady of the Community Allianee on Prisons and state House Puhlie Safety Committee Chairwoman Faye Hanohano (D-Puna, Pāhoa Hawaiian Acres, Kalapana) review the report. - Photos: Helson Gaspar

Clyde Nōmu'o

Lawrence Okinaga

Richard Naiwieha Wurdeman

Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe

Yuklin Aluli

James Spencer