It also logged a second-place ranking ­ its highest national ranking ever ­ in the rate of property crimes overall, a category that also includes burglaries and motor vehicle thefts.

The statistics, and how Hawai'i ranked nationally, are part of the state Department of Attorney General "Crime in Hawaii 2001" report but are based on older statistics because other state figures for 2001 won't be available for comparison until October, said Paul Perrone, chief of research.

They are gathered nationally as part of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting statistical program.

In Hawai'i, there were 3,570 larceny-theft crimes (thefts excluding motor vehicle thefts) per 100,000 population. The overall property crime rate was 4,955 per 100,000.

Although these are the highest rates the state has posted, Perrone said, typically Hawai'i ranks high in thefts and other property crimes and low in violent crimes.

"One factor is considering the state's population distribution, we're essentially a large city," he added. "And crime rates are based on resident population as a denominator. We have a high de facto population because of all the tourists here, but we don't get to count those people as residents."

In addition, Perrone cited a common theory that Hawai'i statistics include a high rate of thefts because people here feel more willing to report relatively petty crimes.