If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. STATE OF HAWAII Department of the Attorney General CRIME IN HAWAII 1991 CRIME PREVENTION DIVISION 131/1,/ tCRIME IN HAWAII ,- J ~ I ~ !r.," 1J 1; 1991 ~. I ~ '1 !.I~\ ~.i.: I "., ~ I A REVIEW OF UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS 139114 u.s. Department of Justice Nationallnstitu!e of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating It. Points of view or opinions stated In this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the Nationallnstituto of Justice. f.il! Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been ,.~ gran~~ii Department of the Attorney G2iJleral to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). I Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permission of the copyright owner. AUGUST 1992 JOHN WAJHEE WAAAEN PflICE, III AnORNEY G(NEIlAL OOIitANOfl ROBERT A. MARKS flAST D£PIJTY AnOflNEY OEHEIIAI. STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 425 QUEEN STREET 11';~ HONOLULU. HAWAII 96813 ~ (B08) 586-1500 ,::jl t, !."' FOREWARD I Crime in Hawaii, 1991 is a comprehensive report concerning the extent and nature of crime in our state. This report is based upon the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program I monthly offense and arrest reports voluntarily submitted by the four county police departments to the Crime Prevention Division of the Department of the Attorney General and, subsequently, forwarded to the FBI. As a strictly volutary program, the compilation of these I data would not be possible without the cooperation and support of Chief Calvin Fujita of the Kauai Police Department, Chief Michael Nakamura of the Honolulu Police Department, Chief Howard Tagomori of the Maui Police Department, Chief Victor Vierra of the Hawaii Police Department, and their respective staffs. Special thanks go to the UCR data collection and I records personnel in each of the counties. Much of what we know about crime in Hawaii is the result of county law enforcement agencies. Crime and the way in which it impacts our lives is an important concern of the citizens I of Hawaii. An accurate view of the extent and nature of crime is vital to understanding both the problems associated with crime and developing solutions to those problems. As resources at the federal, state, and local levels become more scarce, reliable information I plays a critical role in the decision making process about how we address the problems of crime in our communities. As the data in this report indicate, efforts to combat crime in Hawaii are being I successful. The overall rate of serious crime in the state has decreased for the second consecutive year. However, rather than become complacent, it is necessary to maintain our efforts in those areas where we are being successful and increase efforts to target specific I offenses that are problematic. This edition of Crime in Hawaii marks the first year that the Crime Prevention Division has been responsible for the Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The format and design of I the report has been significantly altered in an effort to assist the reader in locating and interpreting crime data and trends. I :1~ Warren Price, III Attorney General I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Hawaii is different in many respects from the other 49 states. An island chain stretching 1,523 miles, Hawaii consists of 8 major islands and 129 minor islands with a total area of 6,425 square miles and 750 miles of coastline. The state is located 2,557 miles from I Los Angeles, California and 3,847 miles from Tokyo, Japan. In 1991, 6.8 million people visited Hawaii, an average of 157,590 visitors each day. People are attracted to Hawaii's exotic, tropical environment and rich cultural heritage. Hawaii I has one of the most racially and ethnically diverse populations in the United States, and the interaction between residents and visitors from every part of the world adds to that diversity. The nature and extent of crime ill Hawaii is also much different from many parts of the I country. Nationally, 87.4 percent of the Index Crimes in 1990 (the last year for which national data are available) were property crimes; 12.6 percent were violent crimes. In Hawaii, 96 percent of the Index Crimes in 1991 were property crimes and only 4 percent were violent I crimes. From 1990 to 1991, the number of Index Crimes reported to police nationwide increased 3 percent while in Hawaii the number of Index Crimes increased only 0.1 percent. Nationally, property crimes increased 2 percent and violent crimes increased 5 percent from I 1990 to 1991. In Hawaii, property crimes increased 0.7 percent and violent crimes decreased 11 .9 percent from 1990 to 1991. In 1990, Hawaii was ranked 42nd among the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico on the basis of resident population and 43rd for violent crime. Nevada, the 40th I largest state, and Rhode Island, the 44th largest state, were ranked 22nd and 33rd, respectively, in violent crime. Washington, D.C. was ranked 49th in population and 1st in total crime, violent crime, and property crime. I In addition to those mentioned above, major findings of this report include: * While the population of the State increased approximately 23.6 percent from I 1977 to 1991, the actual number of murders, robberies, burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts decreased. I * The number of reported forcible rapes in the State increased 4.2 percent from 1990 to 1991 and has increased 65.9 percent during the past 15 years. I * The 45 murders in the State in 1991 account for only 0.07 percent of the total Crime Index. An equal number of individuals were killed by handguns and knives or cutting instruments (12). Of the 45 murder victims in the State in I 1991, 26 (57.8 percent) were males. Of the known offenders, 97 percent were male. I * The total Index Crime rate in the City and County of Honolulu in 1991 was 38.5 percent lower than the rate in U.S. cities of comparable size in 1990. I 1< From 1990 to 1991, the number of reported murders, forcible rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicle thefts in the City of Hilo I decreased. * The total Index Crime rate in Maui County increased 4.9 percent from 1990 to ,I 1991, while the violent crime rate has decreased every year since 1987. ;;.~I i iii tt, I * Total Index Crime rates have decreased the past 2 years in Kauai County to the lowest level in 15 years. The crime rate in Kauai County is the lowest in the I State. * In 1991, adults accounted for 73.3 percent of all arrests, 76.9 percent of arrests I for violent crimes, and 58.5 percent of arrests for property crimes. Juveniles were arrested more often than adults for burglary, motor vehicle theft, and arson. I * The number of adults arrested for drug-related offenses decreased 9.4 percent from 1990 to 1991. The same number of juveniles were arrested for drug­ I related offenses in 1990 and 1991. * In 1990, 8378 adults and 71 juvenlies were arrested for driving under the I influence of alcohol (OUt). In 1991, 7933 adults and 57 juveniles were arrested for DUI, representing decreases of 5.3 percent and 19.7 percent, respectively. I State of Hawaii I The murder rate in the United States was 135 percent higher than in the State of Hawaii in 1990; the murder rate in the Pacific States (Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii) was 155 percent higher than Hawaii in 1990. The 1991 murder rate in Hawaii I was the same as in 1990: 4 murders per 100,000 residents. By the end of 1991, 80 percent of the reported murders in the State had been solved. Where the relationship between the murder victim and offender was known: 14.3 I percent involved the killing of a spouse, all of whom were women; 31.4 percent involved the killing of a relative (including spouse); and 25.7 percent involved the killing of a stranger. Over one-half of the murder victims were under 30 years old and, where the age of the I offender was known, 60.6 percent of the offenders were under 30. After reaching a high point in 1980, the State's robbery rate was reduced by 54.2 percent in 1991. Aggravated assaults in the State decreased 22.6 percent from 1990 to 1991, I ending what had been 6 years of steadily rising rates. From 1980, when arson statistics were first included in the UCR Program, to 1991, the number of reported arsons in the State decreased 38.6 percent. The value of property I destroyed by arson in the State in 1991 totaled $2,952,144. In 1991, the value of property reported stolen in the State of Hawaii totaled $65,630,670, an increase of 28.2 percent from 1990. Of the total value of property stolen in I 1991, 14.1 percent was recovered, down from 18.7 percent recovered in 1990. Over 65 percent of the burglaries in the State involved residences and, of all residential burglaries, 60.1 percent occurred during the day. I I City and County of Honolulu In 1991, 75.1 percent of the State's population resided in the City and County of Honolulu. During 1991, 75.3 percent of the State's total Index Crimes, 75.0 percent of the I violent crimes, and 75.3 percent of the property crimes were reported in the City and County of Honolulu.