Adult corrections officers were busy monitoring something beside criminals Friday morning.
They were at the state capitol to protest the idea of cutting the Ddepartment's of Public Safety's budget, which could mean a loss of jobs.
They were drumming up support, letting everyone know what's at stake.
"If they close portions of the prison down we're looking at approximately, what we're hearing is 70 positions. That's 70 people who have been there for ages and now the state turns their back on us," said Bob Mielke of Halawa Correctional Facility.
These guards, members of the United Public Worker's Union, are worried the state will shut down a portion of Halawa and transfer prisoners to the mainland.
"You know the reason we started sending prisoners up the mainland is because we didn't have enough prison space. Well that is one thing and I can understand why we would want to do that. But now we're at a point where we're talking about closing down parts of a prison we already have," said Rep. Karl Rhodes.
That's why more than one hundred guards turned out to send a message to legislators.
"It's bigger than that number. It's families, kids foreclosures, bankruptcies, whatever you want it's going to happen," said Mielke.
"They will not be earning wages," said Haunani Rosales of the Women's Correction Facility. "So they will not be able to pay any taxes, or continue to contribute to Hawaii's economy."
"It's bad people policy by laying off people, putting more people on unemployment, more people in foreclosure, more stress on your families and many other families," said Senator Gary Hooser.
The cuts at Halawa could save the state around 6 million dollars.
The bill continues to be debated at the legislature.
