The Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission — a necessary, independent body tasked with overseeing Hawaii’s troubled prisons and jails — was hit with two body blows in recent weeks. It must recover quickly, and stronger, in order to withstand a bruising budgetary battle anticipated in the months ahead at the state Legislature.

The first blow came last month, when state Public Safety Director Tommy Johnson told the commission that he, or anyone from his staff, would no longer be attending the agency’s meetings. That raised red flags, since a high level of engagement with the commission is needed for DPS to improve conditions — for its staffers and inmates alike, and for better facilities operations.

The second blow to the five-member commission came on Dec. 4, when Ted Sakai, 76, an inaugural commissioner and former DPS director with much institutional knowledge in corrections, announced his resignation due to health problems. His knowledge and sense of urgency for DPS to make improvements — especially on inmates’ reentry into society — will be sorely missed. “Our job is oversight, and oversight is a way to shine light,” he stated at the commission’s Nov. 16 meeting, and he’s right.

Interviewed on Friday for this editorial, Johnson told the Star-Advertiser that he now will attend the commission’s next meeting on Dec. 21 — expressing optimism that friction spurred by two commissioners’ “disrespectful,” “unprofessional”and “snarky” comments in previous meetings will ease after discussing his concerns with the commission’s coordinator and chairman. Also at issue for Johnson was how meetings were run: what he perceived to be a public “free for all,” with questions about non-agenda items being put to him directly and spontaneously, instead of the proper statutory process of channeling through the commission first. “I didn’t want the department to get ambushed with questions that we were not prepared to answer” because the issues weren’t on the agenda, he said.

Johnson insists DPS has otherwise been responsive and working well with the commission — but the air must get cleared, of course, to enable discussions toward improving prisons and jails. The Legislature in 2019 established the Oversight Commission amid a rash of problems, including prison overcrowding, security, staff shortages, abuse of overtime and subpar treatment of inmates.

These problems persist today — so it behooves DPS leadership to take the commissions’s constructive criticism as being constructive, and instructive. It is for the greater good, for instance, that the commission has conducted inspection tours of nearly all of the state’s jails and prisons — and reported alarming deficiencies to DPS, and to the public. Among these: deterioriated conditions in the Hilo jail, nonfunctioning video cameras in the Kailua women’s prison; security problems at the Oahu Community Correctional Center; and electrical failures at Halawa Correctional Facility.

And, as Sakai last month recounted about commissioners’ inspection of the Maui Community Correctional Center: “Some of the violations we saw were egregious. They concern life, safety issues.”

Speaking of disrespect: The commission itself has been on the receiving end by the Legislature, the very body that called for its creation, but has woefully neglected funding it for years. It wasn’t until last year that an oversight coordinator was hired — and even then, no thanks to any funds allotted by the Legislature. Gov. Josh Green came through with about $413,000 through July 2024.

Commission Chair Mark Patterson in last month’s meeting noted that the 2024 session “will be a real battle for us” to convince lawmakers that the commission is a much-needed entity to make needed changes within the DPS. Already, oversight coordinator Christen Johnson reported, there’s word of a probable “significant cut” of its $690,000 funding request, essentially hindering plans for more facilities investigations and the necessary site visits statewide. If legislators want real progress in Hawaii’s corrections system, they must come through with funding.

The governor must now appoint Sakai’s replacement, and work for steady funding so oversight can be done properly. Green also needs to ensure his corrections chief shows up before the commission, with an open mind and thicker skin, and continues to work collaboratively toward much-needed improvements. Turning DPS dysfunction into success is not just about government efficiency; it’s about keeping our communities secure against criminal backsliding and about better public safety.