A catastrophe is growing at Oʻahu’s jail

We are in the third inning of the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s a long way to go, and the state of Hawaiʻi sorely needs to improve its performance.

The state’s largest cluster of confirmed infections is in the Oʻahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC). As of August 26, this jail had recorded 302 COVID-19 cases, including 51 staff members, several of whom were hospitalized. Among OCCC inmates, the infection rate is now 25 percent, and it could go higher.

A catastrophe is building at OCCC. How did it happen, and what lessons should be learned from this outbreak?

For decades Hawaiʻi has participated in a mass incarceration binge, much like the the rest of the country. The state’s per capita incarceration rate is more than double the rates of our closest international allies, and most of our inmates are caged in crowded and unclean conditions. In March 2020, the state’s Office of the Public Defender sought emergency action from Hawaiʻi’s Supreme Court, to address the pandemic threat in our nine correctional facilities. In response, the Supreme Court appointed former judge Dan Foley as a Special Master, to work with lawyers, prosecutors, and the courts to address the situation. The ensuing process resulted in the release of approximately 650 of the state’s 3,700 inmates.