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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE RESOLUTION


URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, THE HAWAII PAROLING
   AUTHORITY, AND THE JUDICIARY TO EXPLORE AND FUND
   ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION FOR NONVIOLENT FEMALE
   OFFENDERS.



 1       WHEREAS, the cost of incarceration for women is especially
 2   harsh since most of the women that are sent to prison are
 3   mothers, and unlike incarcerated males who can count on their
 4   wives to keep the family together, incarcerated women and their
 5   children face a terrible crisis, particularly when a woman is
 6   shipped far from home under the present state policy; and
 7   
 8       WHEREAS, in 1997, Hawaii had the largest proportion of
 9   females in the state prison population (10.2 per cent) while
10   the national average was 6.4 per cent; and
11   
12       WHEREAS, Hawaii had the third highest increase in the
13   number of women incarcerated between 1996 and 1997: 31.2 per
14   cent compared to a national average of 6.2 per cent; and
15   
16       WHEREAS, Hawaii has a large proportion of its prison
17   population incarcerated in other states: 12.1 per cent compared
18   to a national average of 0.5 per cent; and
19   
20       WHEREAS, in view of the cost of incarceration to both the
21   taxpayers and the offender, alternatives to the incarceration
22   of women convicted of nonviolent offenses should be explored
23   and implemented, such as day treatment centers and programs
24   treating mothers and their children; now, therefore,    
25   
26       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
27   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
28   of 1999, that the Department of Public Safety, the Hawaii
29   Paroling Authority, and the Judiciary are urged to explore and
30   fund alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent female
31   offenders; and
32   
33       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public
34   Safety, the Hawaii Paroling Authority, and the Judiciary are
35   each requested to submit a report of its findings and
36   recommendations on alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent
37   female offenders to the Legislature no later than twenty days
38   before the convening of the Regular Session of 2000; and

 
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                                  H.R. NO.              H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 2 Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Public Safety, the
 3 Chairperson of the Hawaii Paroling Authority, and the
 4 Administrative Director of the Courts.