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Hawaii Department of Public Safety names new corrections deputy director

COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
                                Sanna Munoz

COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Sanna Munoz

The state Department of Public Safety has announced the appointment of a new deputy director for corrections.

Sanna Munoz, who had served as the domestic violence unit probation supervisor for the state Judiciary Adult Client Services Branch in the Third Circuit, will serve in her new role starting Aug. 1.

“Sanna comes to (DPS) from the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, Third Circuit (Hawaii Island), and has more than 26 years of experience with the Judiciary in various roles, including supervisory, programming, and community outreach. She also sits on several criminal justice and domestic violence committees representing the Judiciary. I am confident she will provide valuable insight and experience in her new leadership role,” said Public Safety Director Tommy Johnson in a statement.

The acting deputy director, Michael “Mick” Hoffman, will return to his position as the Institutions Division Administration starting July 31.

Munoz earned an associate’s degree in administration of justice from Hawaii Community College, a bachelor’s degree in social and criminal justice from Iowa Ashford University, and a graduate degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Missouri.

She began her Judiciary career in 1997 as a clerk with the Juvenile Client Services Branch, working her way up through the ranks to a social services assistant in 2010, when she monitored low-level felony defendants’ compliance with court-ordered conditions and provided assistance to probation officers and other judicial staff.

The following year she became a probation officer and was promoted to senior probation officer in 2013. She was prompted to probation supervisor in 2018.

On Jan. 1, 2024, DPS and the Department of Law Enforcement will split, at which point Munoz will transition to a newly created deputy director for rehabilitation, programs and services position. DPS will be renamed the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

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