MAPUNAPUNA — A handful of businesses here that have been hit repeatedly by thieves are fighting back with stronger fences, barbed wire, surveillance cameras and GPS systems.

But no matter what they do, brazen thieves still find ways to steal their tools, materials and vehicles, said Raymond Chan, office manager of 57 Builders Construction Inc.

"It's maddening," Chan said. "We've spent $6,000 to $7,000 on cameras, reinforced the fence, added the barbed wire and spent another $2,000 to $3,000 on GPS systems. I don't know what else we can do. The police and city have to do something about the thefts in this area. It's gotten out of hand."

Honolulu police say crime statistics for Mapunapuna are up in the first part of this year compared with last year. Burglaries have doubled from 3 to 6, 21 vehicles have been stolen compared with 11 at the same time last year, auto break-ins are slightly up, but thefts are down.

The spike appears to be concentrated in the 800 and 900 blocks of Ahua Street — home to 57 Builders, Bacon Universal Co. and an auto body shop that have all been hit by thieves at least twice since Jan. 1.

57 Builders has suffered the most. Last weekend, it was ripped off for the fourth time since February, causing Chan to go to neighboring businesses trying to organize a movement to get the city more involved with security in the area. He's not sure what steps to take, he said, but he can no longer sit idle.

Thefts have cost Chan's company an estimated $50,000, and he fears it could face higher insurance costs or lose its coverage altogether.

Bacon Universal, whose new security patrol foiled a third break-in earlier this month, is offering $2,000 rewards for information leading to the return of hydraulic hammers that were stolen in separate heists over the Presidents Day weekend and the New Year's holiday.

"Our No. 1 goal is that we have the equipment in our inventory for our customers and they're not affected," said Caroll M. Nielsen, vice president of operations at Bacon Universal. "We have to protect our properties."

Nielsen said Bacon's security patrol reported an open gate in the middle of the night. Police investigated and found wire cutters and a paint trailer on the property, but nothing missing.

"They must have left in a hurry," Nielsen said of the would-be thieves. "Unfortunately, when police tracked down the owner of the trailer, they found it had been stolen from another company."

Chan hit a boiling point with last weekend's theft. He arrived at work before 7 a.m. Monday to find his reinforced fence torn apart. Surveillance video showed the thieves using the company's flatbed truck to drive through the fence — after hot-wiring a forklift to load pallets of lumber, hydraulic hammers and other tools and materials onto the truck. They had entered the compound using wire cutters to cut a hole through the fence, avoiding the barbed wire above.

It was the fourth time the company's own truck was used to carry away stolen materials. Like the first three times, the truck was found abandoned in the Wai'anae area.

However, unlike the past three times, this time it was found on private property at 10 a.m. Monday in Nanakuli along with some of the stolen items. No arrests have been made, but that could change.

"The investigation is continuing," said Michelle Yu, spokeswoman for the Honolulu Police Department. "The case is still open."

Employees of 57 Builders drove to the house where the truck was found, hoping to see police make an arrest. Representatives of Bacon Universal also came to see if any of the items belonged to them. They didn't find any.

"I don't understand why nobody has been arrested yet," Chan said. "We found the truck in the yard, we have them on video. ... I'm sure these are the same guys. Something has to be done."