Crime rates in Manoa surge

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

Manoa is bucking an islandwide trend of reduced property crime for the first half of the year, with offenses on the rise and capping an increase that has sent burglaries in the affluent neighborhood to its worst level since the mid-1990s.

"I've never seen it as bad as it is right now," said C. Richard Fassler, coordinator of the lower Manoa neighborhood watch program. "I think these are guys that are professional criminals. My guess is the 'ice' thing is responsible."

Ice, or crystal methamphetamine, is a highly addictive illegal drug often pointed to by police and lawmakers as contributing to crime.

Fassler said burglaries, auto thefts and thefts from cars in the residential area are the worst he has seen in his 15 years of working with the community crime prevention program.

Property crimes on O'ahu were down 4.9 percent for the first five months of this year compared with the first five months of 2002, according to police, but statistics in Manoa show a different trend.

In the three police beats that cover Manoa, the total number of burglaries, thefts from vehicles and vehicle thefts increased by nearly 4 percent from January to June of 2003, with 315 reports compared with 303 during the first six months of 2002.

The trend continued last month, with Manoa residents reporting 22 home burglaries, compared with 10 burglaries in the same month a year ago.

Manoa experienced a 36 percent increase in property crimes in 2002 — a total of 247 burglaries, 164 auto thefts and 698 larceny reports. That's up from the 133 burglaries, 100 auto thefts and 581 larcenies reported in 2001.

The crime statistics are a jarring contrast to the quiet residential area with its small, tree-lined streets and stately historic homes. The valley has a large elderly population and every evening the area is frequented by people strolling, walking dogs and jogging.

Fassler said he has tried to warn residents by sticking leaflets in mailboxes and on telephone poles around the neighborhood between Punahou School and the University of Hawai'i.

The UH-Manoa campus has had a crime problem of its own, with the state and students losing $350,000 worth of property in 97 burglaries in 2002, and the number of break-ins this year threatens to be higher.

The university's numbers are included in the neighborhood statistics.

Detective Clinton Sukekane with the police District 7 burglary and theft detail, said property crimes are cyclical depending on the time of year and what criminals may be working a specific area, but he also blames ice for an increase in the number of offenses.

"We have a drug problem in Hawai'i and people steal to feed that," Sukekane said. "A lot of the people I've caught, burglars, say they have an ice problem. They admit it."

At UH, bicycles and computers are the most stolen property, but Sukekane could not say if the same criminals are also responsible for thefts on campus.

Sukekane said homeowners need to take preventive measures against crime.

"Louvered windows are a nightmare," Sukekane said. "Take a look at the vulnerable points of your home. Crime does happen; if you want to protect yourself, do something."

McKinley Street resident Bruce Rosen thought he had taken adequate measures to prevent burglaries. He glued his louvered windows to the frame and installed an alarm system, but his home was hit anyway. After finding a ladder and climbing though a second-floor window, burglars tripped an alarm but fled with a few items.

"The most important thing was they took my daughter's Kamaka 'ukulele. She was very upset," Rosen said. "Put an alarm in your house and put out a sign that says you have an alarm," he advised. "We didn't have signs. Now we do. We didn't put sensors on every window. Now we do."

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.