Hawaii rating up For the second consecutive year, Hawaii had the highest larceny-theft rate and the second-highest overall property crime rate among the 50 states in 2001, according to figures compiled by the FBI.
to No. 3 for crime
But the state's violent crime rate
is the nation's ninth-lowestBy Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.comIncreases in both categories helped push Hawaii's overall crime rate last year up three spots to the nation's third highest, despite having the ninth-lowest violent crime rate.
The figures are included in the Crime in the United States, 2001 report released Monday by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
The broader property crime category includes burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle thefts. Larceny-thefts include shoplifting, purse-snatching and thefts from vehicles.
Hawaii jumped three spots in burglaries last year to 10th from 13th. The state also moved up to sixth from eighth in auto thefts, but still lags far behind first-place Arizona.
Despite the state's high placing in property crimes, from a historical standpoint, crime in Hawaii is still low, said Paul Perrone, chief of the Research and Statistics Branch of the state Department of the Attorney General's Crime Prevention and Justice Assistance Division. That's because property crimes have declined nationwide since 1991 and only started rising in 2001, resulting in Hawaii's high ranking.
The 5,386 crimes per 100,000 residents reported in Hawaii in 2001 was the fourth lowest since the state started keeping track of crime rates in 1975.
And there are other factors that contribute to Hawaii's high numbers, Perrone said.
One is the method of calculating crime rates. The number of crimes is divided by the resident population. The crime rate is reported per 100,000 residents. The large number of visitors in Hawaii's de facto population on any given day is not part of the calculation.
"We have to count crimes committed against visitors, but not count the visitors," Perrone said.
He also said there is a consensus among researchers that people in Honolulu are more likely to report low-level property crimes than people in other cities. Honolulu accounts for about 75 percent of Hawaii's population and crimes.
The state also moved up one spot in overall violent crimes from eighth-lowest in 2000. Violent crimes include murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
Fueling the jump was a 16 percent increase in rapes, pushing Hawaii up to 22nd from 33rd.
State rankings
Crimes overall
(per 100,000 residents)1. Arizona 6,077.4 2. Florida 5,569.7 3. Hawaii 5,386.1 4. Louisiana 5,338.1 5. New Mexico 5,324.0 Property Crimes
1. Arizona 5,537.1 2. Hawaii 5,131.5 3. Washington 4,796.8 4. Florida 4,772.5 5. Oregon 4,737.4 Larceny-Thefts
1. Hawaii 3,669.2 2. Oregon 3,542.7 3. Arizona 3,520.6 4. Washington 3,258.7 5. Florida 3,150.4 Auto Thefts
1. Arizona 983.6 2. Nevada 698.1 3. Washington 652.6 4. Maryland 595.8 5. California 591.4 6. Hawaii 550.7 Source: FBI's Crime in the United States, 2001 report.
FBI