Search Hawaii Community Correctional Center Inmates

HCCC Jail Role

Hawaii Community Correctional Center, often shortened to HCCC, is operated by the State of Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The center is the main jail-equivalent facility for Hawaii County even though the county does not run it through a sheriff's office. DCR describes Hawaii jails as secure facilities for the pretrial population, very short-term sentenced misdemeanants, transitional sentenced felons, and both male and female inmates. That makes HCCC the place many Hawaii Island custody searches move to after the short police cellblock stage.

The main HCCC site is in downtown Hilo, and DCR describes the full operation as a two-site facility. Hale Nani, about five miles away in Panaewa, provides reintegration services and work release for sentenced inmates who are returning to Hawaii Island. That distinction matters during an inmate lookup. A new arrestee may begin in a Hawaii Police Department cellblock, then move to HCCC if still held after court processing. A sentenced person may be at HCCC, Hale Nani, Kulani Correctional Facility, another DCR prison, or a mainland contracted facility depending on classification and legal status.

The official HCCC page is also the best source for current facility notices. It links DCR mail and publications policies and includes notices for phone service, tablets, video services, and electronic trust deposits. Older forms or policies may still refer to the former Department of Public Safety because Hawaii reorganized corrections and law-enforcement functions on January 1, 2024. Current facility operations are under DCR.

The official DCR HCCC facility page is shown in this screenshot from the Hawaii Community Correctional Center source page.

The source page is useful because it ties the Hilo main facility, Hale Nani, phone service, tablet service, deposit service, and DCR policy links to the same Hawaii County jail operation.

HCCC Inmate Population

The strongest current population source for Hawaii Community Correctional Center is the DCR End of Month Population Report for March 31, 2026. That report listed HCCC with 206 design beds, 226 operational beds, and a physical headcount of 295. DCR also listed an assigned count of 307, but headcount is the better plain-language figure for people physically counted at the facility at the end of the reporting period. On that date, HCCC was about 69 people above operational capacity.

The same DCR report breaks the HCCC headcount into legal-status groups. Pretrial felony detainees were the largest group, with 139 people. Probation violators were next, with 70 people. The report also listed sentenced felons, sentenced probation cases, sentenced misdemeanants, pretrial misdemeanants, other-jurisdiction holds, and parole violators. HCCC housed 254 men and 41 women in that snapshot.

HCCC Inmate Lookup

Hawaii Community Correctional Center does not use a county sheriff roster in the mainland sense. The first search question is where the person is in the custody chain. HPD publishes 48-hour media booking log PDFs for people arrested and charged, but those PDFs are not a live in-custody roster. For DCR jail custody at HCCC, use Hawaii VINELink person search or the DCR SAVIN information page. HPD also tells the public that SAVIN does not apply to suspects still held in a police cellblock before court processing.

1. Check whether the arrest is very recent. For a Hilo police cellblock hold, HPD lists the Hilo cellblock at (808) 961-8100.
2. Review the HPD booking logs if the person was arrested and charged within the 48-hour report period.
3. Search Hawaii SAVIN or VINELink by name, offender number, or case number when DCR custody may apply.
4. Confirm that the custody status points to HCCC rather than Kulani, another DCR prison, federal custody, or release.
5. Call HCCC when the online status is unclear or when visit, mail, or housing details must be confirmed.

A person can appear in more than one system over time. The HPD log may show the arrest and charge record, eCourt Kokua may later show court filings, and VINELink may show custody or parole notification status. For a fuller custody-search overview, the Hawaii County jail inmate records page explains how these access channels fit together.

HCCC Address and Contact

The main public facility contact for Hawaii Community Correctional Center is the Hilo Punahele site. Use the facility number for general custody and Watch Commander questions, and use the separate visitation information number when planning a visit. For police-stage custody before court processing, use HPD cellblock numbers instead of assuming the person has already moved to DCR custody.

Visitor planning needs extra care because HCCC is not a walk-in any-time roster facility. DCR's HCCC schedule says inmates request a time slot from the visitation officer. Once approved, the inmate is responsible for contacting family with the approved slot. Visitors must arrive before the visit starts, and operational needs can change the schedule.

HCCC Visitation Schedule

HCCC visitation is no-contact under the official schedule reviewed in the research file. Visits are limited to one inmate and one visitor, and each inmate may have a maximum of one visit per week. The schedule is highly segmented by housing and legal status, including Punahele, Komohana, HN Makai, HN Mauka, and Waianuenue. Visitors should arrive 15 minutes before the approved time. Facility parking is restricted, except for limited ADA visitors.

The HCCC schedule states that each visit lasts 20 minutes, with the last 10 minutes reserved for cleaning and sanitizing. It also warns that inmates with a write-up before visitation will be denied. Those rules make same-day travel risky without a custody and schedule check, especially for family traveling from West Hawaii or North Hawaii communities.

HCCC Mail and Money

HCCC mail and deposit rules come from DCR facility procedures and notices. Mail should include the sender's first and last name and return address. The inmate name should be addressed in care of Hawaii Community Correctional Center at the Punahele Street address. DCR procedures reviewed in the research file state that there is no limit on correspondence sent or received, but they also list many rejection risks. Books, magazines, food items, and similar items may not be sent directly to an inmate under the procedure excerpt.

Mail may be returned for missing sender names, missing return addresses, stickers, ink stamps, glitter, glue, drawings, bookmarks, lipstick marks, or inappropriate content. Deposits may also be subject to restitution and Crime Victim Compensation Commission deductions under DCR policy. When a family member is trying to fund calls and commissary, the account setup and approval status can matter as much as the custody search.

HCCC Booking Path

HCCC is part of a larger Hawaii County arrest-to-custody process. A person arrested by Hawaii Police Department may first be held in an HPD cellblock in Hilo or Kona. HPD lists Hilo cellblock custody confirmation at (808) 961-8100 and West Hawaii or Kona cellblock arrested-adult information at (808) 326-4646 ext. 293. If the person is charged, the HPD media booking log may show arrest time, charges, bail, release description, and court code/date. If the person stays in custody after police processing, HCCC and DCR custody channels become more important.

HCCC also houses people who are not brand-new arrestees. DCR's jail role includes very short-term sentenced misdemeanants, transitional sentenced felons, probation and parole violators, and other court-related holds. A sentenced person who fits prison placement criteria may later move to Kulani or another DCR prison. That is why HCCC lookup language should stay tied to DCR custody status rather than a simple county booking sheet.

HCCC Programs and Reentry

HCCC's two-site structure is important for programs. DCR describes Hale Nani as HCCC's reintegration program, with work release for sentenced inmates who will return to Hawaii Island. HCCC program notes in the research file include violence intervention, domestic violence anger management, victim support services for female inmates through BISAC, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, sex offender treatment as assessed, and Parenting After Violence through BISAC.

Work opportunities include in-facility worklines, Correctional Industries, and community service worklines for county, state, and nonprofit organizations. These details help explain why someone may be described as part of HCCC but not housed at the downtown Punahele building. Hale Nani is part of that same operational picture, while Kulani is a separate minimum-security prison for sentenced male state prisoners.