Hawaii crime
fell 9% in 1997

Police chief credits alert
communities but would 'keep
the pressure on'

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii's reported crime rate dropped 9 percent in 1997, highlighted by significant decreases in burglaries and larceny-thefts, according to a state attorney general's report released today.

The annual "Crime in Hawaii" report notes that the category of crime including murder, forcible rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft and arson has decreased 17 percent over the past two years from the 15-year peak reached in 1995.

"This should encourage those in the community and the criminal justice system to work hard to reduce crime even further," state Attorney General Margery Bronster said.

Police Chief Lee Donohue credits strategies developed within the law-enforcement system and community awareness with an 11 percent drop in Oahu's 1997 crime rate.

"In 1996 our strategy was to go back to basics and address quality-of-life issues," Donohue said. "We identified problem areas, such as purse-snatching and crimes against tourists, and created task forces to deal with it.

"Also, we have 650 neighborhood security watches involving 36,000 households islandwide," he added. "(Public Safety Director) Keith Kaneshiro's efforts to keep people who are convicted locked up has also made a big difference."

Donohue added that current police statistics show that crime is down 7 percent on Oahu through the first half of 1998.

"We as a community need to realize that despite the decreases, crime can raise its ugly head at any minute," Donohue said. "The tendency is for lawmakers to cut budgets when crime numbers go down, but when it's going down is when we need to keep the pressure on."

With a 9 percent drop in property crimes last year, burglary is at its lowest point since the state began tracking crime statistics in 1975, says the chief researcher for the state report.

"Larceny-thefts, which have consistently accounted for about 70 percent of Hawaii's index offenses, were down 10 percent in 1997, and by 18 percent or 11,000 offenses since 1995," said researcher Paul Perrone.

The complete report can be downloaded from the Crime Prevention & Justice Assistance Division's Web site at http://www.cpja.ag.state.hi.us