O'ahu property crimes down 4.9 percent this year

By Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writer

Property crimes on O'ahu are down a modest 4.9 percent for the first five months of the year and some law enforcement officials are wondering if the numbers will continue to fall.

After steady increases in property crimes between 1999 and 2002, Paul Perrone, research chief for the state attorney general's office, said it's too soon to tell whether the decline will continue through the year.

"The reality is that numbers go up and down and 4.9 percent isn't a whole lot of change," Perrone said. "Things can and do change over the course of a year."

Police aren't sure what caused the drop when compared with the first five months of 2002. But property crimes in the Pearl City district, the busiest police beat on the island, were down 18.3 percent from January to May, said Lt. Derek Shimatsu, who is assigned there.

Pearl City police regularly receive far more calls than other districts do. The district averages about 900 calls per year, mostly relating to nonviolent felonies such as burglary, auto theft and larceny.

From January to May, thefts in Pearl City dropped 24.6 percent, burglary decreased 23.8 percent, car break-ins dipped 18.9 percent and auto theft went down by 5 percent over last year, Shimatsu said.

"Hopefully this trend will continue," Shimatsu said.

Pearl City residents also are optimistic. Joanne Arakaki, associate minister of music for First Baptist Church of Pearl City on Ho'ohaku Street, said property crime has been noticeably lower.

"We were having problems with break-ins for a while, but we haven't had one this year," Arakaki said.

Thieves broke into the church several times last year and stole money and equipment, Arakaki said. And even before that, the church had other problems with property crime, she said.

"It was discouraging because we want this to be a place where the community feels safe," Arakaki said. "It's much better now."

The drop for O'ahu as a whole may be an anomaly, and perceptions of the problem vary from community to community, but the June 26 shooting of Punchbowl resident Eric Kawamoto during a burglary prompted calls for greater vigilance against property crimes. Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle pointed to the shooting to illustrate how property crime was occurring in still-alarming numbers.

O'ahu's property crime figures — as well as overall crime statistics — aren't as high as they've been since their peak in 1995. But Perrone said he is alarmed about a statewide property crime rate that has steadily increased.

"Now it's time to open everyone's eyes about property crime," Perrone said. "It doesn't capture our attention like homicides and rapes. But no matter how you slice it, we have one of the worst problems in the nation."

Although it's too early to say why property crimes decreased on O'ahu during the past five months, some politicians and law enforcement authorities cite crystal methamphetamine, or ice, as the reason for the three-year rise.

Economic downturns also could have caused crime to spike, Carlisle said. At the same time, social programs have been cut, the criminal justice system faces crowding at prisons and new laws emphasize probation and treatment for ice users instead of punishment, he said.

Reach Allison Schaefers at 535-8110 or aschaefers@honoluluadvertiser.com.