Pubdate: Tue, 25 Sep 2007
Source: Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2007 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Contact:  http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/195
Author: Peter Boylan, Advertiser Staff Writer, HONOLULU CRIME RATE TRAILS MOST BIG U.S. CITIES

Honolulu finished at or near the bottom of the 20  largest U.S. 
cities in terms of the number of reported  incidents of violent and 
property crime in 2006,  according to statistics released yesterday by the FBI.

Honolulu ranked 20th in the nation in the number of  violent crimes 
and 16th in property crime, according to  the FBI. New York City 
reported the most crimes of any  city in the United States last year, 
according to the  report.

A nearly 9 percent drop in Honolulu crime overall last  year was 
offset by a 5.9 percent increase in murders,  robberies, assaults and 
other violent crime, however.  The violent crime spike was the 
greatest percentage  increase in Honolulu since 2001.

A total of 40,943 crimes were reported in Honolulu in  2006 compared 
with 44,953 in 2005.

Property crime accounted for 38,221 offenses last year,  down from 
42,383 the previous year, a drop of 9.8  percent.

There were 2,722 violent crimes in Honolulu last year,  compared with 
2,570 in 2005.

Carnegie-Mellon University criminologist Alfred  Blumstein said 
Honolulu's high level of property crime  is not uncommon for a city 
its size. Its low level of  violent crime also makes it extremely 
safe, he said.

He said in his view, Hawai'i's large Asian population  is one reason 
violent crime is so low.

"Japan has a historically low violent crime rate which  translates to 
Honolulu more so than large eastern  (U.S.) cities. Ethnicity and 
socioeconomic status are  very powerful drivers of the crime rate" 
said  Blumstein. "It (Honolulu) is a delightful place."

Honolulu is the nation's 11th-largest city. "The  statistics show 
we're still the safest major city in  the U.S., and we want to thank 
the community, our  partners in law enforcement and our employees for 
their  dedication and effort," said Honolulu police Capt.  Frank T. 
Fujii. "We're very pleased with Honolulu's  violent crime ranking, 
and we're continuing to work on  property crimes."

Nationally, violent crime increased 1.3 percent in 2006  -- the 
second straight annual increase.

Honolulu's violent crime increase was driven by a 12  percent 
increase in robberies and a 3.3 percent  increase in assaults.

Murders were up by two cases, to 17, and the number of  sexual 
assaults decreased.

"The rise in violent crime is concerning, but we  continue to work 
with county, state and other federal  law enforcement officials to 
monitor and improve the  situation," said Janet L. Kamerman, special 
agent in  charge of the FBI's Honolulu division.

"The increase aside, looking at cities on the Mainland  of comparable 
size, Honolulu is still very safe, with  property crime representing 
the overwhelming majority  of the crime on O'ahu."

However, U.S. attorney Ed Kubo said he is concerned by  the increase 
in violent crime and that efforts should  be focused on putting 
repeat offenders behind bars.

He credited a seven-year effort dedicated to  dismantling the crystal 
methamphetamine trade in  Hawai'i with driving down property crimes.

"In the early 2000s, Hawai'i was considered the  ice-using capital of 
the nation, and at the same time  ranked first in the nation as to 
property crimes --  which was directly linked to the horrendous ice 
epidemic we had. Since that time, we have been  aggressively cutting 
off major drug importation  avenues, more persons are now in drug 
treatment, and  there has been an all-out effort on drug awareness 
and prevention.

"I know that we still have a drug problem, but not as  concerning as 
it was seven years ago. The fact that we  have been steadily dropping 
in our overall property  crime rates from first to 20th ... confirms 
that we are  making inroads," Kubo said.

But, he said: "I am very concerned about the uptick in  violent crime 
in Hawai'i. Although the present rate is  by no means near what the 
rate was in the early 2000s,  we must continue our all-out effort to 
put these  criminals behind bars because many ... are repeat  offenders."

- ---------------------------------

FBI REPORT

View the full report at  www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/index.html 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart