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ATG NEWS RELEASE:2015 Crime in Hawaii report released

Posted on Dec 2, 2016 in Latest Department News

HONOLULU – Attorney General Doug Chin announced today the release of the State of Hawaii’s annual Uniform Crime Report, Crime in Hawaii, 2015. The report shows that in calendar year 2015, a total of 48,919 Index Crimes* were reported in the State of Hawaii, yielding a rate of 3,417 offenses per 100,000 resident population. Hawaii’s total Index Crime rate in 2015 was 0.3% below the rate reported in 2014, and 24.7% below the rate reported a decade earlier (2006).

There were 3,530 violent Index Crimes reported statewide in 2015, yielding a rate of 246.6 offenses per 100,000 residents. Hawaii’s violent Index Crime rate in 2015 was 2.3% more than the rate reported in 2014, and 12.9% below the rate reported in 2006.

There were 45,389 property Index Crimes reported statewide in 2015, yielding a rate of 3,171 offenses per 100,000 residents. Hawaii’s property Index Crime rate in 2015 was 0.5% below the rate reported in 2014, and 25.5% below the rate reported in 2006.

Other highlights of Crime in Hawaii, 2015 include the following:

  • The rate of reported offenses for two violent Index Crimes decreased in the State of Hawaii in 2015: rape, by 1.9%; and aggravated assault, by 1.6%. The rate of reported offenses for the other two violent Index Crimes increased: murder, by 6.5%; and robbery, by 12.4%.
  • Rates of reported offenses increased by 1.3% each for two property Index Crime categories: larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft. The rate of reported offenses for burglary decreased by 9.5%.
  • The rate of reported offenses for arson increased by 66.1% statewide in 2015.
  • Based on the proportion of arrests (plus cases closed by “exceptional means”) to reported offenses, the statewide clearance rate for total Index Crimes decreased, from 16.2% in 2014 to 15.3% in 2015.
  • The number of Index Crime arrests fell by 5.0% statewide in 2015. Arrests for violent Index Crimes decreased 8.7%, and arrests for property Index Crimes decreased 3.9%.
  • Adult arrests comprised 83.0% of all Index Crime arrests in 2015; juvenile arrests accounted for 17.0%. Crime in Hawaii 2015provides state and county data on the age, gender, and race/ethnicity of arrestees.
  • The City & County of Honolulu’s total Index Crime rate increased 1.2% in 2015. The violent and property crime rates increased by 6.6% and 0.8%, respectively. The City & County of Honolulu’s rates for murder, rape, and burglary were the lowest in the State of Hawaii, while its robbery rate was the highest.
  • Hawaii County’s total Index Crime rate decreased 2.8% in 2015; the property crime rate fell 2.1%, and the violent crime rate dropped 13.7%. Hawaii County’s crime rates rose for four of the ten Index Crime offenses, with notable increases of 162.3% for murder and 69.4% for arson. Hawaii County reported the lowest robbery and arson rates in the State of Hawaii, and the highest rates for murder, motor vehicle theft, and human trafficking–commercial sex acts.
  • The total Index Crime rate in Maui County increased 2.3% in 2015; the violent crime rate rose 7.6%, and the property crime rate edged up 1.8%. Maui County’s crime rates increased for six of the ten Index Crime offenses, with a notable increase of 86.4% for arson. Maui County reported the highest statewide rates for total, violent, and property Index Crimes, as well as rape, aggravated assault, and larceny-theft.
  • The total Index Crime rate in Kauai County decreased 22.7% in 2015. Kauai County’s violent crime rate decreased 26.3%, and the property crime rate dropped 22.4%. Kauai County’s arson rate increased by 828.9% in 2015. Kauai County’s rates for total Index Crime, total violent crime, total property crime, aggravated assault, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft were the lowest in the State of Hawaii, while its rates for burglary and arson were the highest.
  • Twenty-nine murders were reported statewide in 2015. Males comprised 72.4% of the murder victims and 75.0% of the alleged offenders. One-third (33.3%) of known relationships between murder victims and offenders in 2015 were strangers, while about one-quarter (25.9%) were immediate family members.
  • Of the 2,992 murders, robberies, and aggravated assaults reported statewide in 2015, 47.1% were committed using strong-arm weapons (i.e., hands, fists, and feet); 25.0% with “other” or unknown weapons; 17.3% with knives or other edged weapons; and 10.5% with firearms.
  • Over $85 million in property value was reported stolen in the State of Hawaii in 2015, up 8.1% from the figure reported in 2014. Of the total value stolen in 2015, 29.5% was recovered, marking an increase from the 25.7% that was recovered in 2014.
  • No police officers were killed in the line of duty in the State of Hawaii during 2015, but 401 officers were assaulted, yielding a rate of 13.6 assaults per 100 officers. Crime in Hawaii 2015also provides data on the time of day, type of assignment, and the weapons used in assaults against police officers (see Appendix D).
  • On October 31, 2015, a total of 2,939 police officers and 826 civilians were employed by the four county police departments, denoting a 0.3% decrease in workforce from the figures reported from October 31, 2014.

* Including the violent Index Crimes of murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, and tracked separately, human trafficking, commercial sex acts and human trafficking, involuntary servitude; the property Index Crimes of burglary, motor vehicle theft, and larceny-theft; and, tracked separately, arson.

Record Crime Rates*
State of Hawaii and Counties, 2015

State of Hawaii
Record low burglary rate

City & County of Honolulu
Record low burglary rate

Hawaii County
Record high motor vehicle theft rate

Maui County
None

Kauai County
Record low total Index Crime rate
Record low property crime rate
Record low burglary rate
Record low larceny-theft rate
Record low motor vehicle theft rate
Record high arson rate

* Within jurisdiction, since the start of statewide data collection in 1975 (1980 for arson rates).

Copies of the complete Crime in Hawaii, 2015 report can be downloaded from the Attorney General’s Crime Prevention and Justice Assistance Division web site at https://ag.hawaii.gov/cpja/crime-in-hawaii-2015.

 

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For more information, contact:

Paul Perrone

Chief of Research and Statistics

(808) 586-1420

[email protected]

 

or

 

Joshua A. Wisch

Special Assistant to the Attorney General

(808) 586-1284

[email protected]

https://ag.hawaii.gov