Bucking a nationwide decrease in crime, Oahu experienced a 4.5 percent increase in overall crime in 2009, FBI statistics released yesterday show.

The increase was driven chiefly by a 5 percent rise in property crime, with increases in larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson, according to the FBI's Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report. The report found that 33,375 nonviolent crimes were reported in 2009, up from 31,781 in 2008.

Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha pointed to an increase in larceny-thefts.

“;While this figure is up, it is still lower than it was in 2007 and previous years,”; he said. “;We have implemented new technology to help identify repeat offenders and to track down suspects. Property crimes in general can be difficult to investigate, and we need the community to help to be our eyes and ears and to report suspicious activity and be good witnesses.”;

Violent crimes in Honolulu decreased 1.5 percent, with fewer murders, robberies and aggravated assaults reported. Kealoha said violent crime had decreased for the sixth year in a row, making Honolulu “;one of the safest major cities in the nation.”;

Rape was the only violent crime to show an increase, jumping 19.7 percent to 243 in 2009 from 203 in 2008. HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu said the number of rapes has generally hovered between 200 and 300 for the past decade. The 203 rapes in 2008 might be considered as low, while 243 is “;right in there,”; she said.

Meda Chesney-Lind, a professor of criminology and women's studies at the University of Hawaii, said the rape statistics over the last decade suggest that “;the dynamics involved in this violent offense are different”; from other crimes.

“;These data certainly suggest that all those working with young women, who are demographically the most likely to be the victims of sexual assault, should redouble our efforts to prevent this offense,”; she said, adding that schools had a special responsibility to address the issue. “;Note that in 2007, 7.8 percent of Hawaii school youth surveyed said that they had been forced to have sex when they did not want to,”; she said.

The mixed results for Honolulu contrasted with the generally positive news nationwide, with statistics showing a decrease in overall crime of about 5 percent in cities with a population over 100,000.

Nationwide, last year's decline was 5.5 percent for violent crime, including 7.2 percent for murders. The rate for property crime was down 4.9 percent, the seventh consecutive drop for that category. The declines had been a more modest 1.9 percent for violent crime and 0.8 percent for property crime in 2008 and 0.7 percent and 1.4 percent respectively the previous year.

The decrease in crime, following smaller declines in 2007 and 2008, ran counter to a trend that historically linked a rise in crime with an economic downturn, experts said.

“;There is a connection between an economic downturn and crime: Budget cuts create significant challenges in keeping crime rates low,”; said Northeastern University criminology professor James Alan Fox. “;We have increasing numbers of at-risk youth in the population, and they need services. We need to reinvest in crime prevention, or else the good news we see today could evaporate.”;