More cars are stolen in Pearl City
than in any other region

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By Rod Antone
Star-Bulletin

You have a better chance getting your car stolen in West Oahu than anywhere else on the island, according to statistics from the Honolulu Police Department.

The district, which HPD said includes Waipahu and Pearl City, had 1,211 reported auto thefts last year, according to the department's annual report for 2000.

The report shows that the highest concentration of auto theft in the West Oahu district occurred in the area bordered by Kamehameha Highway, Waimano Home Road and Kaahumanu Street, where there were 189 reported cases.

"I know we handle about three to four reports a day," said Pearl City Lt. Mark Victor. "There's a lot of parking lots, a lot of cars parked in shopping areas. Also, it's really accessible by freeway -- you zip in, steal a car and zip out."

Other areas with high rates of auto theft include downtown Honolulu and Kalihi, where there were 891 and 966 reported cases respectively. In HPD's Kalihi district, Nuuanu to Salt Lake, Mapunapuna stands out with 138 reported cases.

In Honolulu the most auto thefts were reported just a block away from Ala Moana Center. There were a total of 94 reported cases in the area bordered by Piikoi Street, Kaheka Street, South King Street and Kapiolani Boulevard.

Overall, auto theft on Oahu increased to 5,214 in 2000 from 3,997 in 1999, an increase of just over 30 percent. That increase was more than 11 times the national average.

The FBI's Uniform Crime Report for 2000, released yesterday, states that there was a 2.7 percent increase nationwide in auto theft from the year before.

"When you look at the numbers, it looks like Honolulu is following the national trend in respect to auto theft," said Pam McCullough, Honolulu's FBI spokeswoman.

The FBI report states that Honolulu also follows the national trend when it comes to other property crime increases. Larceny-theft offenses on Oahu, which include shoplifting and purse-snatching, jumped to 32,197 in 2000 from 30,396 in 1999. Nationwide, larceny-theft increased 0.1 percent from 1999 to 2000.

Property lost during these crimes totaled more than $44 million last year for the victims. Stolen motor vehicles were valued at $6.2 million.

Honolulu police report recovering more than $5.3 million worth of stolen property last year, more than $4.3 million of that recovered stolen vehicles.

Oddly enough, victims appear to lose more money from items stolen from cars rather than stolen cars themselves. HPD estimates stolen property from motor vehicles at more than $7.76 million.

HPD also reports "clearing" a smaller percentage of auto theft cases. HPD officials said a "cleared" case could mean a variety of things: suspects being charged, property being recovered or the case being closed administratively.

Out of the 5,214 auto theft cases last year, HPD reported that they cleared 420 of them, or 8.1 percent. In contrast, HPD cleared 96.6 percent of negligent-homicide cases and 60 percent of all rape cases.

Despite the rise in auto thefts on Oahu last year, 1995 remains the worst year for stolen motor vehicles within the last decade. There were 7,440 vehicles stolen in 1995, up from 5,727 cases the year before.

Though Victor referred questions about the reasons behind the recent increase to auto theft detectives, he acknowledged that there is a "demand" out there for stolen vehicles.

"We're doing the best we can by putting as many people (officers) as we can on the road," he said.

Other major crimes, such as murder, decreased both nationally and locally. Nationwide, murder decreased by 1.1 percent, according to the FBI.

Murder on Oahu dropped to 20 cases last year from 37 incidents in 1999. Seven of those murders in 1999 were committed by Byran Uyesugi, who went on a shooting spree at the Xerox building on Nimitz Highway.

The FBI states that on average, robbery nationwide went down by 0.7 percent. However, there was a slight increase on Oahu to 984 robberies in 2000 from 907 robberies in 1999.

Forcible-rape and aggravated-assault incidents also increased slightly on Oahu: rape up to 240 from 235, and assault up to 1,058 from 1,019. FBI figures show that nationally, rape and assault also increased, by 0.7 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.