By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

"Can you help me? My grandma's car got stolen!"

The young woman's voice was cracking with that incendiary emotion that flares when someone has done something bad to someone you love.

"She was picking shells on the beach and someone stole her key out of her shoe."

The radio deejay asked for a description of the car.

"White Imperial. My GRANDMA'S white Imperial."

That's the thing about auto theft. For the most part, it's not a violent crime, and it's on a different level of violation than, say, someone breaking into your house and rifling through your stuff. But it's still an offense against the order of your life, and depending on your means, the impact of having your car broken into or stolen can range from inconvenience to trauma.

When Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Peter Carlisle's car was broken into recently, Carlisle said of the thief: "If he sells my property, buys drugs and dies of an overdose, my feeling is good riddance."

Yeah, getting your car jacked isn't the end of the world, but it sure can set a person off.

Lane Woodall had an experience that, sadly, isn't all that unusual. Her truck was stolen, and a few days later, she spotted it being driven around Honolulu. She was able to call 911 on her cell phone, pursue the truck from a safe distance and, eventually with help from police, recover the truck abandoned on the roadside. Her husband later found a marijuana pipe and an ice pipe left inside the truck, which had been wiped down with acetone. The thieves had driven 800 miles in less than five days. Woodall was livid.

"These guys steal your vehicle, the one you're making payments on, brazenly drive it around the island, visit their friends, without any guilt whatsoever that it doesn't belong to them."

On O'ahu, the number of auto thefts is at an all-time high. According to a report from the state Department of the Attorney General, there were 7,532 auto thefts in the first 11 months of 2002. That number was up 43.1 percent from the previous year.

Auto theft is by far Hawai'i's biggest crime problem.

According to acting Maj. Alan Arita, head of the Honolulu Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division, the belief is that there are relatively few car thieves, just that they're very busy.

"A lot of times, they steal a car to be used in committing another crime. That way, it's harder to find them," says Arita. "The real sophisticated ones steal a car, take it to a chop shop and disassemble it for parts in a matter of an hour."

On the lower end of the auto- thief evolution chain are those who steal a car simply for transportation. "They drive it around until they use up all the gas, and then they leave it and pick up another one," says Arita.

The Police Department uses a multi-prong approach in tackling the problem. The department's Career Criminal Unit has been investigating suspected chop shops and targeting those serial car thieves that they believe cause most of the trouble.

HPD is also working with the Hawai'i Insurers Council to bring in experts to train officers on the latest evidence-gathering and tracing technology.

Arita says a renewed emphasis on Neighborhood Watch programs is also being done with auto theft in mind. "We really need the public's eyes and ears on this. We rely on tips and information from witnesses."

Arita says HPD takes the problem very seriously, even though they see it on a daily basis.

"We know how people feel," he says. "Police officers, we get our cars stolen and broken into, too."

Vehicle theft is covered by the optional "other than collision" clause in your auto insurance policy. Personal items stolen from your car would be covered under your homeowner, condo or renter's policy ... that is, if you have such a policy.

So what can you do to protect your wheels? Arita says the basics still apply: Don't leave your keys in the ignition, under the floor mat or tucked in the visor; park in a lighted area; consider installing a car alarm or other security device. "You hear things about the Club," says Arita, "People say thieves can just saw the thing off your steering wheel or take off the whole steering wheel. But that at least will slow them down, and it may encourage them to move on to a car that's an easier target."

Arita adds, "I've asked the officers, and they said none of the auto theft cases they've seen have involved a car equipped with a Club."

Woodall, who takes great offense at a video game called "Grand Theft Auto," has ideas of her own. "How about the newspapers publishing a list of stolen plates/vehicles and updating it daily. The HPD could include this list on their Web site. ... Your kids might even enjoy looking for stolen cars while sitting in traffic."

Of course, there are other issues to consider, such as longer prison sentences for criminal car thieves, the larger issue of drug use, the even larger issue of the economy. But on the ounce-of-prevention side, don't keep your car keys in your shoe. Sadly, picking shells on the beach isn't like old times anymore.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.