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“The public fear-inducing claims that releases will lead to a crime wave which will jeopardize public safety have been debunked by a report prepared by the nonprofit firm Lawyers for Equal Justice (LEJ). LEJ’s report, which was based on an extensive review of court filings, court minutes, pleadings filed in individual cases, Honolulu Police Department statistics and media reports, concluded that ‘government officials and the media misinformed the public,’” wrote Ikenaga.

“The LEJ report noted that HPD had identified 300 individuals who had been released on Oʻahu due to COVID-19. While HPD claimed that 50 of these individuals had re-offended, LEJ’s research revealed that only 39 of the 50 individuals had been released pursuant to the Supreme Court’s order. Further, 80 percent of the 39 were re-arrested for houselessness-related offenses or violations of the terms of release.

“The LEJ report confirms that the public safety concerns and objections raised by respondents as to released persons re-offending en masse are exaggerated and not supported by empirical data and should not deter this court from granting the relief sought in the petition.”