Honolulu’s crime rate falls
Staff and news services
Violent crime in Honolulu dropped nearly 5 percent last year from 2006, while property crime went down nearly 3 percent, according to preliminary numbers released yesterday by the FBI.
Crime in Honolulu
Preliminary numbers released today by the FBI:
| CATEGORY |
2006 |
2007 |
CHANGE |
| » Violent crime |
2,745 |
2,613 |
-4.8% |
| » Murder |
17 |
19 |
+11.8% |
| » Forcible rape |
229 |
226 |
-1.3% |
| » Robbery |
956 |
943 |
-1.4% |
| » Aggravated assault |
1,543 |
1.425 |
-7.6% |
| » Property crime |
38,310 |
37,197 |
-2.9% |
| » Burglary |
5,482 |
5,777 |
+5.4% |
| » Larceny/theft |
26,540 |
26,483 |
-0.2% |
| » Auto theft |
6,288 |
4,937 |
-21.5% |
| » Arson |
588 |
407 |
-30.8% |
|
Nationally, violent crime declined by 1.4 percent, reversing two years of rising numbers, while property crime dropped 2.1 percent, the largest decrease in four years.
In Honolulu the largest drop was in arson cases, down nearly 31 percent, while auto thefts fell 21.5 percent. Burglaries were up, and there were two more murders in 2007 than in 2006.
Honolulu Police say the "pit stop" program started in 2003, in which auto theft suspects are charged immediately, has helped reduce cases in several crime categories by keeping criminals off the streets.
Maj. Carlton Nishimura also attributed the decline to citizen education through the citizens and business police academies. The programs are "generating a class of people that will not become victims," he said.
