HONOLULU (HI Now) - The job vacancy for adult corrections officers at the Hawaii State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) has dropped from 36 percent to about 24 percent this past year. DCR Director Tommy Johnson said this decrease can be attributed to his team’s extensive outreach and recruitment efforts in the community. DCR employees — also known as “Champions of Change” — have been featured on HI Now Daily, and the DCR employee recruitment team has participated in numerous job fairs throughout the year, including those at the University of Hawaii. A TV commercial featuring adult corrections officers and support positions have also been shown in theaters and on TV, digital and radio campaigns, and posters on TheBus.
This year, DCR also held more recruit training classes, increasing from five a year to eight. Since there have been more applicants from Hawai‘i Island, DCR held recruit training there so that they wouldn’t have to be away from their family during the eight-week training period.
“We believe prospective employees want to be a part of our ohana because we have an important mission. We help people realize their full potential by giving them opportunities to learn new skills so they can begin to build a new life when they reintegrate into the community upon their release,” Johnson said. “This reduces the likelihood of inmates returning to our correctional facilities and enhances the safety and security of our communities.”
Of DCR’s total workforce of 2,700, about 900 are support postions. This includes positions in healthcare, mental health, human resources, groundskeeping, logistics, IT, and more. If you’re looking for a new job in the new year as an adult corrections officer or support position with competitive pay and great benefits, visit dcr.hawaii.gov.
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