Honolulu appears headed toward defending its title as the nation's safest major city after FBI crime statistics released yesterday indicate a 22 percent decline in crime through the first six months of 2008.

In 2007, Honolulu had the lowest crime rate of any U.S. city with a population greater than 500,000. In that year, incidents of rape, robbery, assault, theft, car theft and arson declined, and only 39,810 major offenses were reported, the lowest total since the statistics were first compiled in 1975.

The previous lowest total was 42,048 in 1985. The highest was 67,145 in 1995.

There were 16,341 violent and property crimes during the first six months of 2008 compared with 21,085 in 2007, a decrease of more than 22 percent.

"This decline in crime in general is the result of aggressive investigations and prosecutions, more jail times, and the removal of the most chronic of our career criminals from our streets," said U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo. "The impressive drop in our crime rate in Honolulu as well as statewide is a very good indication that our law enforcement's strategy, in working together, has worked. By focusing more on joint investigations, we have continuously been reducing crime in Honolulu and generally across the state."

From January to June 2008, crime statistics show eight murders, 96 rapes, 418 robberies, 713 assaults, 3,071 burglaries, 10,334 thefts, 1,701 car thefts, and 185 arson cases. There were the same number of assaults during the first six months of 2008 — 713 — as there were during the first six months of 2007.

Burglaries, the only category that increased during the first six months of 2008, reached 3,097, compared with 2,888 in 2007.

"This is a nice trend ... and we certainly want to continue that," said Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann. "This is all about us working together to ensure this is the safest big city in America."

In 2007, overall crime on O'ahu fell 3 percent — the fourth straight yearly decline — to the lowest total since the state started tracking the data 33 years ago, according to the FBI.

Murder and burglary increased from 2006 to 2007. Incidents of rape, robbery, assault, theft, car theft and arson declined.

Property crime dropped by about 2.9 percent in 2007 while violent crime decreased 4.8 percent.

"When you compare Honolulu to other cities, we've done quite well," said Kendrick D. Williams, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's Honolulu division. "The continued collaboration between law enforcement agencies, jointly addressing and targeting the crime problems, has helped push crime down."

Law enforcement officials credit the declining crime rate to a focus on repeat offenders, especially drug traffickers and car thieves, as well as increased community vigilance.

Officials also credited increased and focused collaboration among state, federal and county law enforcement agencies.

"It works just like a charm. It really is a template for cooperation among law enforcement agencies," said city prosecutor Peter Carlisle. "We're lucky that we have one police department that is the major organization for the investigation of crime and a central prosecutorial agency for the standard crimes. You can't say enough about the host culture. You come to Hawai'i and really, it is a different feeling than if you go to Newark, New Orleans or Baltimore."

NATIONAL FIGURES

Nationally, violent crime fell 3.5 percent and property crime dropped 2.5 percent, according to the FBI's preliminary figures for 2008.

Murders dropped 4.4 percent nationwide, though the drop wasn't universal. In midsized cities — those with 50,000 to 100,000 people — murder and manslaughter increased 3.3 percent. Murders in small towns — those with fewer than 10,000 people — rose nearly 10 percent, the FBI reported.

In the Midwest, police departments reported a 6 percent drop in violent crimes. In the West, the decrease was 5 percent, while the Northeast saw a 2.9 percent drop and the South a 1.5 percent decline.

The slumping economy made it a bad year for car dealers, but 2008 was a bad year for car thieves, as well. Motor vehicle thefts plunged 12.6 percent.

In big cities, forcible rapes increased 3.4 percent, while nationwide such attacks declined by about the same amount, 3.3 percent.

The latest FBI data indicate violent crime has fallen for a second straight year, after increases in 2005 and 2006.