New data suggest that crime on O'ahu may be on the rise after a long downward trend, and many residents say they believe it after hearing about more crimes — especially thefts and break-ins — in their communities.

Some neighborhoods are already trying to push back against criminals.

Over the past several months, communities islandwide have formed citizen patrols and community leaders have called on residents to lock their doors and keep a lookout for suspicious characters. In Mililani and Mänoa, Kalihi and Chinatown, dozens of residents in new security watch patrols are taking to the streets several times a week to report suspicious people to police and to send a message to would-be criminals.

An increase in burglaries spurred the formation of at least one citizens patrol in Mänoa's College Hill neighborhood and the revival of another patrol on Woodlawn Drive. There were 22 burglaries in Mänoa in October, compared to five in October 2008, according to police figures given to the Mänoa Neighborhood Board.

Some thieves have been so brazen as to knock on doors to see if anyone was home, said John Kim, chairman of the board.

"Gone are the days when you can leave your car or house unlocked and not expect something to happen," he said. "The other part is ... anything you are suspicious about, report it."

Recent FBI figures show crime on O'ahu rose nearly 6 percent in the first half of 2009, with property crimes accounting for much of the increase.

The figures come on the heels of warnings from authorities that the economic crisis could trigger a spike in crime, and follows a long period of decline in crime islandwide.

Officials are quick to point out that though crime rose during the first half of 2009, it's down when compared to 2007. And they say Honolulu remains one of the nation's safest cities. Authorities are also somewhat wary of making a connection between the economic downturn and the new increase in crime, saying the uptick could be nothing more than a short-term blip — not signs of a more worrisome trend.

TOURIST COMPLAINTS

Still, there are other indications crime is up.

The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai'i, for example, is seeing more tourists coming to them for help after becoming victims of "crimes of opportunity" — thefts of items left unattended on beaches or in other areas.

In 2009, VASH assisted 178 visitors who were victims involved in 102 cases of theft. VASH helped 136 tourists in 2008 who were victims in 79 cases of theft.

VASH executive director Jessica Lani Rich said many of the crimes could have been prevented.

"The message is that people just need to exercise a little bit more common sense," she said.

Meanwhile, more and more residents in neighborhoods islandwide are raising concerns about crime.

And they're increasingly fighting back — with increased vigilance and new security patrols.

Mililani Mauka/Launani Valley Neighborhood Board Chairman Dean Hazama said several new neighborhood patrols have formed in the community in recent months, in response to "a lot more reports of incidents." He said residents are especially reporting more motor vehicle break-ins and car thefts.

Police couldn't provide statistics to bear out the incident reports, and law enforcement officials point out that crime has been on the decline for a decade. But the new FBI figures, released in December, show a nearly 6 percent increase in property crimes and arsons in the first six months of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

Thefts saw the biggest raw number increase, from 10,348 in the first half of 2008 to 11,174 in 2009.

Meanwhile, the number of car thefts went up about 18 percent, from 1,702 in 2008 to 2,003 last year.

Violent crimes increased nearly 7 percent, to 1,322 from 1,236, the FBI figures show.

Overall, crime went up 6 percent, with 17,518 property or violent crimes reported in the first half of 2009.

MORE VIGILANT

Ron Lockwood, chairman of the McCully/Mo'ili'ili Neighborhood Board, said neighborhood security patrols in the area are trying to be more vigilant after hearing warnings from police about the potential that crime could increase because of the recession. He said he hasn't heard about any major increases, but he said property crimes appear to be up in the area.

"Is the trend up? Yeah, I'm sure it is," he said. "Times are tough. People are looking at crimes of opportunity. You leave a laptop and there's a jalousie open, it's gone."

Chinatown appears to be one community where residents are seeing the crime situation improve.

Residents say much of that probably stems from more community vigilance and an increased police presence, which was put in place following a March 2009 fatal shooting linked to a turf war over cocaine.

Dolores Mollring, leader of the Downtown/Chinatown Citizens Patrol, said crime appears to have declined. But she said the neighborhood still has its problems, including gangs, drugs and prostitution.

She said she's happy to see things improving, but is also worried that crime could pick up again.

"It may be the calm before the storm," she said.

Maile Kanemaru, executive director of Weed and Seed, which "weeds" out criminals and "seeds" community involvement, said she hasn't seen any indication that crime is on the rise in the three Weed and Seed districts on O'ahu. But she did say that it appears to be "steady," and that several neighborhoods — including those outside of Weed and Seed areas — have requested help to form citizen-watch patrols.

Weed and Seed sites on O'ahu are located in Waipahu, Kalihi and 'Ewa.

"I don't see it (crime) any worse" in the areas, Kanemaru said, "but it's maintaining."