Hawaii does have prisons. The state runs nine correctional facilities spread across Oahu, the Big Island, Maui, and Kauai, and it also contracts with a private prison in Arizona that holds roughly a fifth of its incarcerated population. All told, about 3,700 people were in Hawaii’s custody as of late 2025.
One Agency Runs Everything
In most states, counties operate jails and the state operates prisons as separate systems. Hawaii doesn’t split those jobs. The state government runs every correctional facility in the islands, from pretrial holding units to long-term prisons, under what corrections professionals call a unified system.1Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Home Page Counties do not run their own lockups.
The agency in charge is the Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR), which took over all corrections functions on January 1, 2024 when Act 278 split the former Department of Public Safety into two new agencies.2Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. New Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Provides Hope for a Brighter Future for Inmates and Employees DCR operates under Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 353.3Justia. Hawaii Code 353 – Corrections
The Nine Facilities, by Island
Three of the facilities function primarily as prisons for people serving longer sentences. The rest are community correctional centers, which are Hawaii’s version of jails.
Oahu
- Halawa Correctional Facility (Aiea) is the state’s main prison for men serving felony sentences, with a medium-security operational capacity of 992 beds.
- Waiawa Correctional Facility (Waipahu) is a minimum-security men’s prison with 334 beds.
- Women’s Community Correctional Center (Kailua) is the only facility in the state that houses women, handling everything from pretrial detention to sentenced felons, with 260 beds.1Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Home Page
- Oahu Community Correctional Center (Honolulu) is the largest jail in the system with 954 beds, holding pretrial detainees and people serving shorter sentences.
Hawaii (Big Island)
- Kulani Correctional Facility (Hilo) is a 200-bed minimum-security prison.
- Hawaii Community Correctional Center (Hilo) is the Big Island’s jail, with 226 beds.
Maui
- Maui Community Correctional Center (Wailuku) serves as Maui County’s jail, with 301 beds.
Kauai
- Kauai Community Correctional Center (Lihue) is the smallest facility in the system, with 128 beds.
Prisons and Jails: Where the Line Falls
Hawaii draws the line between prison inmates and jail inmates at one year. A conviction with a sentence longer than one year puts someone in prison classification, which typically means Halawa, Waiawa, or Kulani.4Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Policy COR.18.01 – Inmate Classification System A sentence of a year or less, or pretrial detention without a conviction, sends someone to a community correctional center.5Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. About the Oahu Community Correctional Center – Jails vs. Prisons Handout
Community correctional centers do more than hold people. State law requires each one to provide psychiatric and psychological evaluations, educational and vocational training, medical and dental services, counseling, and help with reentry through job referrals and aftercare.6Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 353-6 – Establishment of Community Correctional Centers Felons nearing release are sometimes moved from a prison to a community correctional center so they can prepare for transition.
The Arizona Prison
Hawaii has been sending inmates to the mainland since December 1995, when the state first shipped about 300 men to Texas as what officials described at the time as a short-term fix for overcrowding. That short-term fix has lasted three decades. Over the years Hawaii inmates have been held in Oklahoma, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Arizona.
The current mainland facility is Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, a private prison owned and operated by CoreCivic.7CoreCivic. Saguaro Correctional Center As of late 2025, about 816 Hawaii inmates were held there, roughly 22 percent of the state’s total incarcerated population of 3,723.8Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Weekly Population Report
State law lets the DCR director transfer convicted felons to out-of-state public or private facilities when the move serves security or management needs, reduces overcrowding, or benefits the inmate, provided the receiving facility meets health, safety, and sanitation standards.9Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 353-16.2 – Transfer of Inmates to Out-of-State Institutions The mainland population has been drifting down. It was 876 at the start of 2024 and had fallen to 816 by October 2025. Legislation has set benchmarks requiring DCR to return a quarter of the Saguaro population to Hawaii by July 2029, with at least five percent of the remaining out-of-state inmates coming back each year starting in 2031.
Why Mainland Transfers Continue: Overcrowding
Overcrowding is the thread that runs through nearly every challenge in Hawaii’s correctional system, and it is why the mainland arrangement persists. As of October 2025, the nine in-state facilities had a combined operational capacity of 3,527 beds and held 2,907 people, an overall occupancy near 82 percent.8Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Weekly Population Report
That systemwide number hides sharp pressure at specific facilities. Hawaii Community Correctional Center on the Big Island was at 131 percent of capacity, holding 296 people in space designed for 226. The Women’s Community Correctional Center was at 117 percent. Oahu Community Correctional Center sat at 98 percent, effectively full with no buffer for intake surges. Meanwhile Waiawa was at 47 percent and Kulani at 44 percent. The mismatch reflects classification restrictions, geographic constraints between islands, and the fact that some facilities aren’t built for the population types most in need of beds. The legislature has authorized the governor to negotiate private or public construction of new in-state correctional space to help close that gap.9Justia. Hawaii Revised Statutes 353-16.2 – Transfer of Inmates to Out-of-State Institutions
Finding Someone in Custody
To locate someone in Hawaii’s correctional system, use Hawaii SAVIN (Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification). It is open to anyone, not only crime victims. You can search custody status and location through VINELink.com, by calling 1-877-846-3444, or through the VINELink mobile app.10Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. SAVIN You can also register for automated notifications by email, text, or phone call if an inmate is released or transferred. The system covers in-state facilities; inmates held at Saguaro are still in Hawaii’s custody and tracked by DCR.
Visiting Someone in a Hawaii Facility
Visits require advance planning. You submit a written application, and the facility administrator must approve you before your name goes on an inmate’s visitor list. Once approved, you give advance notice of each visit, specifying the date, time, and whom you’re visiting. Showing up without prior notice can get you turned away. Bring a photo ID or other identification the facility can use to verify you.11Justia. Hawaii Administrative Rules Chapter 100 Section 23-100-3
A criminal record does not automatically disqualify you, but staff will weigh it when reviewing your application. Emergency exceptions for people not on the approved list exist at the facility administrator’s discretion. Visiting hours, dress codes, and rules about what you can bring vary by facility, so contact the facility directly or check the DCR website before your first visit. Families of inmates at Saguaro face a much harder situation: in-person visits across 2,700 miles are impractical for most, which is one reason the state is working to bring that population home.