Police have beefed up patrols in Chinatown and Downtown, after business owners complained that they're seeing an increase in crime, including drug dealing and fights.

A police spokeswoman could not immediately provide statistics to support the reports, but said police are taking them seriously. In a statement, police Maj. Clayton Saito, District I commander, said, "We hear the (community) concerns."

Business owners and residents plan to gather this month at Hawaii Theatre to discuss crime in the area and how to deal with it. A date for the meeting has yet to be set.

Hawaii Theatre general manager Burton White, who is helping to organize the gathering, said businesses are banding together to tackle the crime issue before it gets out of hand.

He added that despite the recent problems, which apparently have cropped up in the last few months, both Chinatown and Downtown are safer than in years past thanks to a revitalization project spearheaded by the city.

"We've worked so hard to build up this area," White said.

The concerns about crime come as businesses in Chinatown and Downtown are being hit hard by the economic crisis. Though people still frequent events in the area, business owners said, they aren't spending as much.

Empty storefronts are now more common in the district — and that also has many worried. Fewer businesses, some say, could make it easier for criminals to gain more ground.

"Everybody is suffering. Everybody has their economic woes," White said, adding that he and others are worried the empty storefronts will spur a "blight and flight" of businesses.

DON'T SCARE CUSTOMERS

Marsha Joyner, Arts District Merchants Association coordinator, said it's difficult for businesses to discuss the crime problem because they're fearful it will stop people from coming to the area and further hurt sales. She added, though, that businesses realized the situation needed to be tackled before it got out of hand and caused more problems.

"I hesitate to talk about it," Joyner said. "With the economy being what it is, we are already walking on eggshells and really working hard to create an environment that is pleasant. We can't afford to have this going on."

But some businesses say the crime worries are being over- blown. Yoshi Aya Castillo, owner of the interior design shop Floterior on Bethel Street, said she believes the neighborhood has never been safer — or cleaner.

She noted that her shop doesn't stay open into the late evening, so she might be missing some of the crime others are seeing. But she said she hasn't witnessed any spike in crime.

"The community is good," she said.

SOME DON'T SEE A SPIKE

Rich Richardson, creative director at the Arts at Marks Garage, said he's also not convinced that there is an increase in crime. He said perhaps a few incidents have been magnified because of a recent increase in the number of homeless in the area, making people perceive that crime is worse than it is.

"The closing of the beaches to (homeless) campers has driven a lot of traffic to Chinatown," he said. "Unfortunately, people have a stereotype that homelessness increases crime."

Others counter they've seen the crime increase firsthand.

Kim Potter, co-owner of Laughtrack Theater on Bethel Street, said a spike in criminal activity seems to have started late last year. She said the problems include drug dealing, which she says is now blatantly done in the day.

She also said that at night there are more fights.

Shannon Winpenny, the other co-owner of Laughtrack, said her brother was threatened with a knife recently after he left a bar. She said a dealer asked her brother if he wanted to buy drugs. When he said no, the dealer took out a knife.

Winpenny said that luckily passersby intervened.

Winpenny said she believes the increase in crime is because dealers see more "opportunity" in the area because more people are frequenting it. Most of the complaints about the crime problem are coming from the arts district, whose popularity has increased with revitalization efforts.

It's unclear what's spurring the reported increase in criminal activity. Police Chief Boise Correa has warned that spikes in crime often come during hard economic times. Some business owners and residents also said they believe the economy is playing a role.

OTHER THEORIES

But some have also theorized that crime may have increased because police recently started concentrating on certain parts of Chinatown, which may have spurred criminals to migrate to other areas in the district.

The police and city have clamped down on alleged drug dealing in two areas of Chinatown. On River Street, the city took down trellises to deter criminal activity.

Residents had reported tables under the trellises were hotbeds for gambling and drug dealing for years. When the trellises were taken down, which meant tables in the area were no longer shaded, the wrongdoers moved on, police have said.

In October, police also banned any stopping, loading or parking in cars on a section of Pauahi Street that residents have said was frequented by drug dealers and users. The tactic was designed to cut off the drug trade and move dealers away.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann undertook a revitalization of Chinatown in 2006, pledging to bring in a variety of partners to cut crime and change the reputation of the area.

The city plan included no significant funding, but Hannemann pledged to foster partnerships, beef up city maintenance in the area of parking lots, sidewalk and lighting and help police deal with trouble spots in the neighborhood.

Business owners say the push, which came as art galleries and other eclectic shops were staking their own claims in the district, has improved the neighborhood and cleaned up many spots.

And they stressed that though the recent crime problems are worrisome, crime in Chinatown and Downtown appears to be lower than it was before the revitalization effort.

City spokesman Bill Brennan said recently that Hannemann is aware of the concerns about crime, and is working to make sure the police are on top of the problem.

Some 20 business owners gathered last week at the Downtown Neighborhood Board meeting to air their concerns about the perceived crime problem. Frank Lovoie, board chairman, said that all the attendees agreed that crime is getting worse.

He said that the problem wasn't apparent until people started talking to one another about what they were seeing and realized the crime they witnessed wasn't isolated.

"When you get everyone together," he said, " you get the big picture."