There were 2,499 juveniles arrested in Hawai'i last year for serious crime. Of that number, 2,159 were arrested for property crimes, mainly theft.

Serious juvenile crime covers the eight major felonies: murder, forcible rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft and arson.

According to the report, "Crime in Hawai'i 2002," juvenile crime arrests ranged from 4,000 to 7,000 annually during the 1975-1997 period before they began to decline, beginning in 1998. The 2002 figure marks an almost 48 percent decrease over the past decade.

"Sometimes you have a fluke for a year, but this has been five years that the statistics are lower, lower, and lower, It’s been cut almost in half," said Paul Perrone, chief statistician for the attorney general’s office.

Perrone said specific reasons for the decline in juvenile crime are difficult to pinpoint. He said a gradual shift in youth culture, from the prevalent glorification of gang violence in the late ’80s to mid ’90s to a mentality that crime is not "cool," has had a significant impact.

"Teens are less inclined today to get involved in serious delinquent and criminal activity these days then they were a while ago," Perrone said.

Hawai'i had the highest rate of theft in the country last year, according to the report, that also showed the overall crime rate here increasing in 2002 for a third straight year.

Just over $69 million in property was reported stolen last year, up 13.2 percent from 2001.

Crime rates are determined by the number of reported crimes per 100,000 residents.

The total number of violent crimes increased slightly. The spike in numbers came from property crimes, which increased from 62,830 in 2001 to 71,976 in 2002.

A total of 75,238 crimes were reported statewide in 2002, up from 65,947 incidents reported in 2001.

"People in Hawai'i are much more likely to report crimes here because the Honolulu police might respond," Perrone said. "If your grill is stolen off your lanai at night, the police will come and you have a reasonably good chance of getting it back as opposed to other cities where a call like that might get hung up on or laughed at."

Hawai'i County’s crime rate fell 2.4 percent in 2002. The violent crime rate dropped 21.6 percent and the property crime rate decreased by 1.6 percent. Hawai'i County’s total, violent, and property crime rates were the lowest in the state in 2002. The crime rate in Maui County decreased 4 percent in 2002, with the violent crime rate falling 11.9 percent and the property crime rate down 3.7 percent.