Juvenile crime remains down
| • | O'ahu crime rate up 16 percent in 2002 |
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
Serious juvenile crime in Hawai'i reached a record low for the fifth consecutive year in 2002, according to a report released by the Attorney General's office yesterday.
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," the number of 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," said Paul Perrone, chief statistician for the attorney general's office. "It's been cut almost in half."
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 effect.
"Teens are less inclined today to get involved in serious delinquent and criminal activity these days than they were a while ago," Perrone said.
Hawai'i had the highest rate of theft in the country last year, according to the report, which also showed the overall crime rate here increasing in 2002 for a third straight year.
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
