Hawaii inmates now have the opportunity to receive an official ID upon release that will be able to be used for official purposes to help them cope with modern-day demands of photo identification for so many things.
“Legal identification is required for most basic needs such as: applying for State financial assistance, housing, medical coverage and to secure employment,” Tommy Johnson, deputy director for Corrections with the Department of Public Safety, said in a recent news release from the governor's office. “When I came on board as Deputy Director for Corrections in late 2020, one of my first priorities was to make this program a reality. Thanks in large part to the agreement with the (Department of Transportation) and the City and County, offenders are now eligible to order a REAL ID State ID prior to release.”
The program, which went into effect recently, was created to address one of the roadblocks that offenders face soon after release from custody: the lack of certified identification.
The Public Safety Department currently has one machine at the Halawa Correctional Facility (HCF) that remotely connects to the City and County identification system to take an inmate’s picture and capture their signature. After the picture and signature are received, the City and County will process the information and notify the facility when the inmate’s new State ID is ready for pick-up.
Along with the REAL State ID program, the department recently began issuing free bus passes to eligible exiting offenders, with plans to expand this public transportation offering at facilities statewide.