HONOLULU CRIME RATE TRAILS MOST BIG U.S. CITIES

Honolulu finished at or near the bottom of the 20 largest U.S.
cities in terms of the number of reported incidents of violent and
property crime in 2006, according to statistics released yesterday by the FBI.

Honolulu ranked 20th in the nation in the number of violent crimes
and 16th in property crime, according to the FBI. New York City
reported the most crimes of any city in the United States last year,
according to the report.

A nearly 9 percent drop in Honolulu crime overall last year was
offset by a 5.9 percent increase in murders, robberies, assaults and
other violent crime, however. The violent crime spike was the
greatest percentage increase in Honolulu since 2001.

A total of 40,943 crimes were reported in Honolulu in 2006 compared
with 44,953 in 2005.

Property crime accounted for 38,221 offenses last year, down from
42,383 the previous year, a drop of 9.8 percent.

There were 2,722 violent crimes in Honolulu last year, compared with
2,570 in 2005.

Carnegie-Mellon University criminologist Alfred Blumstein said
Honolulu's high level of property crime is not uncommon for a city
its size. Its low level of violent crime also makes it extremely
safe, he said.

He said in his view, Hawai'i's large Asian population is one reason
violent crime is so low.

"Japan has a historically low violent crime rate which translates to
Honolulu more so than large eastern (U.S.) cities. Ethnicity and
socioeconomic status are very powerful drivers of the crime rate"
said Blumstein. "It (Honolulu) is a delightful place."

Honolulu is the nation's 11th-largest city. "The statistics show
we're still the safest major city in the U.S., and we want to thank
the community, our partners in law enforcement and our employees for
their dedication and effort," said Honolulu police Capt. Frank T.
Fujii. "We're very pleased with Honolulu's violent crime ranking,
and we're continuing to work on property crimes."

Nationally, violent crime increased 1.3 percent in 2006 -- the
second straight annual increase.

Honolulu's violent crime increase was driven by a 12 percent
increase in robberies and a 3.3 percent increase in assaults.

Murders were up by two cases, to 17, and the number of sexual
assaults decreased.

"The rise in violent crime is concerning, but we continue to work
with county, state and other federal law enforcement officials to
monitor and improve the situation," said Janet L. Kamerman, special
agent in charge of the FBI's Honolulu division.

"The increase aside, looking at cities on the Mainland of comparable
size, Honolulu is still very safe, with property crime representing
the overwhelming majority of the crime on O'ahu."

However, U.S. attorney Ed Kubo said he is concerned by the increase
in violent crime and that efforts should be focused on putting
repeat offenders behind bars.

He credited a seven-year effort dedicated to dismantling the crystal
methamphetamine trade in Hawai'i with driving down property crimes.

"In the early 2000s, Hawai'i was considered the ice-using capital of
the nation, and at the same time ranked first in the nation as to
property crimes -- which was directly linked to the horrendous ice
epidemic we had. Since that time, we have been aggressively cutting
off major drug importation avenues, more persons are now in drug
treatment, and there has been an all-out effort on drug awareness
and prevention.

"I know that we still have a drug problem, but not as concerning as
it was seven years ago. The fact that we have been steadily dropping
in our overall property crime rates from first to 20th ... confirms
that we are making inroads," Kubo said.

But, he said: "I am very concerned about the uptick in violent crime
in Hawai'i. Although the present rate is by no means near what the
rate was in the early 2000s, we must continue our all-out effort to
put these criminals behind bars because many ... are repeat offenders."

FBI REPORT

View the full report at www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/index.html