THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

21

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO CONDUCT A STUDY REGARDING THE SAFETY AND WORKING CONDITIONS OF GUARDS IN THE STATE'S CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES.

 

WHEREAS, the Oahu Community Correctional Center was a facility built for just over 400 people but is now housing more than twice that amount; and

WHEREAS, many inmates are mentally ill or suicidal and need to be watched twenty-four hours a day, which is accomplished mostly by using guards on overtime; and

WHEREAS, to maintain a seven day a week, twenty-four hour a day operation, overtime will incur at some level to provide a certain minimum level of coverage and maintain security and safety at correctional facilities; and

WHEREAS, compared to other state employees who average approximately ten days of sick leave a year, prison workers average approximately twenty-seven days a year because the conditions of dealing with inmates are far more difficult to handle; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety continues to experience unusual patterns of sick leave and overtime costs; and

WHEREAS, problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints more than any other type of stress such as financial or family problems; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to study prison guard safety, including but not limited to understaffing, working conditions, overtime, and sick leave in the Department of Public Safety; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Bureau is requested to report its findings and conclusions to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Public Safety is requested to extend all available assistance to the Bureau in undertaking this study; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Public Safety and the Acting Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Prison Guard Safety; Study on Working Conditions