Isles top nation
in theftsHawaii is also among the states
that have the highest rates
of overall crime, property crimes
and auto thefts
For the third consecutive year, Hawaii led the nation in larceny-theft cases, according to FBI statistics for 2002.
The Uniform Crime Reporting Program showed that Hawaii had 3,964 larceny-theft cases per every 100,000 residents last year. That number is followed by Washington, D.C., which had 3,802 cases, and Arizona, which had 3,694.
Hawaii's overall property crime rate also remained among the top three states, dropping from second highest in the nation in 2001 to third highest last year with 5,782 cases per every 100,000 residents reported.
Hawaii's auto theft ranking also rose nationally, to fourth highest in the nation last year from sixth the year before. FBI crime statistics reported 796 auto thefts in Hawaii for every 100,000 residents in 2002. On Oahu alone, police reported a nearly 52 percent increase in auto theft last year, to 8,488 offenses in 2002 from 5,597 the year before.
Nationally, the FBI reported a 0.1 percent increase in property crime last year when compared with 2001 numbers. The estimated dollar loss from property crimes nationally increased a little less than 0.3 percent from 2001. Of a total of $16.6 billion lost last year, FBI officials estimated motor vehicle theft was responsible for $8.4 billion, larceny-theft accounted for $4.9 billion and burglary resulted in a loss of $3.3 billion.
STATE CRIME CRIMES OVERALL
RANKINGS
(per 100,000 residents)
PROPERTY CRIMES
1. District of Columbia: 8,022.3 2. Arizona: 6,386.3 3. Hawaii: 6,043.7
(per 100,000 residents)
LARCENY-THEFTS
1. District of Columbia: 6,349.4 2. Arizona: 5,833.4 3. Hawaii: 5,781.7
(per 100,000 residents)
AUTO THEFTS
1. Hawaii: 3,963.7 2. District of Columbia: 3,802.4 3. Arizona: 3,693.6
(per 100,000 residents)
SOURCE: FBI'S CRIME IN THE UNITED STATES, 2002 REPORT.
1. District of Columbia: 1,681.4 2. Arizona: 1,056.9 3. Nevada: 804.5 4. Hawaii: 796.0
As for violent crimes, Hawaii once again ranked low last year, with 262 offenses per every 100,000 residents. Hawaii ranked 43rd in the nation for violent crimes. In comparison, the top three states in that category were Washington, D.C., with 1,633 violent offenses per 100,000 residents; South Carolina, with 833 violent offenses; and Florida, with 770 violent offenses.
Nationally, FBI officials said there was a 0.9 percent decrease last year in violent crimes reported in comparison with the year before. The national violent crime rate was estimated at 495 offenses per 100,000 in population in 2002.
Hawaii ranked low for murder and negligent manslaughter cases -- 46th in the nation in 2002. According to the FBI, Hawaii had 1.9 homicides per every 100,000 residents.
FBI officials said there was a 1 percent increase in murders nationally in 2002 from the previous year. A total of 14,054 homicides took place across the nation last year. Of those, 71.1 percent involved a firearm, and 16.5 percent were related to another felony such as arson or assault.
Other violent offenses nationally, such as robbery, showed a small decrease of 0.7 percent. The robbery rate nationwide was 146 per 100,000 residents.
Nationwide numbers for rape increased 4.7 percent, with 95,136 offenses reported in 2002. According to the FBI, an estimated 64.8 of 100,000 females in the country were victims of rape, a 3.2 percent increase from the 62.8 victims per 100,000 females reported in 2001.
In the robbery category, Hawaii had the 28th-highest rate in the nation in 2002, with 97 offenses per 100,000 residents. Hawaii also had the 28th-highest rate of rapes reported last year, with 29.9 cases per every 100,000 residents. Hawaii had the eighth-lowest rate in the nation for assaults, with 133 offenses taking place per every 100,000 residents.
FBI officials said that nationally, the volume of crimes being reported to law enforcement increased by a fraction of a percentage last year -- less than one-tenth of 1 percent when compared with 2001.
The FBI estimates that more than 17,000 city, county and state law enforcement agencies voluntarily provided data for crimes to the FBI program.
