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Senate Bill 2347, relating to habitual violent misdemeanor crimes against people, came from a community that has been assaulted and traumatized.

They are afraid of walking alone in their neighborhoods and other public places. They have seen dangerous people in our community exhibiting a pattern of violent behavior that is not being addressed by a justice system there to protect us.

Waikiki resident John Deutzman has been a victim more than once. He explains his support for the :

“SB 2347 is intended to give prosecutors discretion to charge a dangerous defendant with a felony only after convicted of specified violent misdemeanors three times in a five-year period. The most common crime that the bill covers is assault in the third degree which requires that an innocent victim be physically hurt in an attack. There is nothing ‘minor’ about the crime. Securing a conviction for assault in the third degree requires the elements of the crime to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and the victim must cooperate throughout the process. Receiving just one conviction for assault in the third degree is very hard to achieve. If an individual racks up three convictions for assault in the third degree in a five-year period, the prosecutor should be allowed to escalate the punishment to a felony.”

Deutzman adds, “We all hope for rehabilitation, but the data so far doesn’t support a healthy success rate. A study of 412,271 prisoners by the US Department of Justice shows that 83% were re-arrested within nine years. California tried many creative rehabilitation methods starting in 2015 and spent hundreds of millions of dollars but so far there’s no proof that anything works. Anti-social human behavior is not an easy fix. At least there is only a small percentage of any community that belongs behind bars.”

Connie Mitchell, executive director of the Institute for Human Services, who has worked tirelessly to engage and serve our homeless, also supports SB 2347. She says it holds people accountable for their violent actions; for them, prison may be a way to get the help they need. Her work exposes her to the problems on our streets.

Mitchell says, “Mental illness and substance use disorders are on the rise in our community. The drugs on the street today are not the same drugs on the street even 10 years ago. Even marijuana is often laced with more powerful drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine, unbeknownst to the user, as reflected in some of the drug testing we have observed. And the meth distributed these days has precipitated all kinds of violent behavior that other homeless individuals and  frontline workers have to face everyday.”

Mitchell says there are disabilities that need to be treated and “should engender compassion.” However, violent behaviors that occur while under the influence of these two mental disabilities cannot be excused.

“While we are opposed to the criminalization of individuals solely because they suffer from mental illness or addiction, the threat they pose to our community, including other more vulnerable people, should not be condoned.”

Mitchell also says, “The IHS has been painfully enlightened to the impact of a changing landscape of substances distributed on the street as violence has erupted with greater frequency both within and outside its shelters. I invite opponents of the bill to walk the street with our outreach workers to see the people we are trying to engage and motivate into shelter and treatment before they hurt someone or themselves.”

It can be a dangerous environment in which to work.

“In efforts to offer assistance, our staff have been threatened with machetes, bitten by dogs, have had to de-escalate individuals in a psychotic or manic crisis at times,” says Mitchell. “Do we quit offering help or do we try harder to shape a legal system to help them access the treatment they need? Many times, for those who are living with mental illness and addiction in the community, being incarcerated for a sufficient period to motivate and receive treatment is the only way to break the cycle of violence.”

With the Department of Public Safety recently changed to focus on rehabilitation, there will be more opportunities to treat some of these people if detained and incarcerated. This bill has the potential to reduce the risk of injury to members of our community and to re-establish the expectation that violent behaviors “are not tolerated in the Aloha State,” Mitchell adds.

SB 2347 focuses on three crimes that hurt people. A person convicted three or more times of: 1) causing bodily injury; 2) causing bodily injury to a law enforcement officer, or 3) sexual assault, including on minors, within a five-year period will be charged with a “habitual violent misdemeanor crime” — a class C felony.

Similar to habitual property crimes passed into law 20 years ago, the penalty is up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000. We need this bill passed for our community’s safety.