10/26/2025
BIG believes it is only a matter of time… before a high profile case arises at HCCC due to many reasons!
UPDATED STATISTICS AS OF OCTOBER 20, 2025: Here is a helpful graphic to illustrate the current overcrowding situation at the Hawai‘i Community Correctional Center (“HCCC”) in Hilo. HCCC is the primary correctional facility on Hawai‘i Island where most pre-trial and sentenced felons are housed. There is no correctional facility located on the westside of the island requiring daily transports for court hearings.
HCCC’s current headcount is 287. The HCCC headcount has been drastically reduced since the COVID-19 Pandemic. The HCCC headcount was 485 on August 31, 2017, 419 on September 30, 2019, 396 on January 31, 2020, and 234 on April 30, 2020.
“Our Office shares in our community’s concern regarding the unwarranted release of individuals facing serious felony charges,” said Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen. “Nevertheless, judges often times refer to HCCC’s overcrowding as the basis to release offenders over prosecutors’ objections. This practice does not promote trust and confidence in our criminal justice system, instead creating doubts, fear, and concerns for public safety. Hawai‘i Island is in dire need of new and improved correctional facilities with the infrastructure to both house serious offenders and accommodate rehabilitative care and treatment, social services, cultural education, and reintegration assistance for incarcerated individuals to reduce recidivism and promote public safety.”
According to the State of Hawai‘i, Department of Public Safety’s website, HCCC is a 226-bed facility located on two sites. The primary facility is situated on three acres in downtown Hilo. HCCC’s reintegration program, Hale Nani, is located five miles away in Panaewa.
For more information on HCCC, the Corrections Division, and our State’s other correctional facilities, please visit: https://dps.hawaii.gov/about/divisions/corrections/.
