Crime in Hawaii 2017

January 11, 2019 —The State of Hawaii’s annual Uniform Crime Report, Crime in Hawaii, 2017, shows that in Calendar Year 2017, a total of 43,969 Index Crimes* were reported in the State of Hawaii, yielding a rate of 3,080 offenses per 100,000 resident population, the lowest on record since statewide data collection began in 1975.  The total Index Crime rate in 2017 was 3.9% below the rate reported in 2016, and 19.8% below the rate reported a decade earlier (2008). 

There were 3,577 violent Index Crimes reported statewide in 2017, yielding a rate of 250.6 offenses per 100,000 residents.  Hawaii’s violent Index Crime rate in 2017 was 3.7% higher than the rate reported in 2016, and 8.0% below the rate reported in 2008.

There were 40,392 property Index Crimes reported statewide in 2017, yielding a record low rate of 2,829 offenses per 100,000 residents.  Hawaii’s property Index Crime rate in 2017 was 4.6% less than the rate reported in 2016, and 20.7% below the rate reported in 2008. 

Other highlights of Crime in Hawaii, 2017 include:

  • The rate of reported offenses for three violent Index Crime increased in the State of Hawaii in 2017: murder, by 11.5%; robbery, by 9.4%; and aggravated assault, by 3.5%. The rate of reported offenses for rape decreased by 5.6%. 
  • In 2017, the rates of reported offenses for all property Index Crime categories decreased: burglary, by 7.2%; larceny-theft, by 4.1%; and motor vehicle theft, by 4.1%.
  • Only two reports of human trafficking–commercial sex acts, and no reports of human trafficking–involuntary servitude, were reported in the State of Hawaii in 2017.
  • The number of Index Crime arrests in the State of Hawaii fell by 12.8% in 2017. Arrests for violent Index Crimes decreased 5.3%, and arrests for property Index Crimes decreased 15.1%.
  • Adult arrests comprised 85.3% of all Index Crime arrests in 2017; juvenile arrests accounted for 14.7%. Crime in Hawaii, 2017 also provides state and county data on the age, gender, and race/ethnicity of arrestees.
  • 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 13.5% in 2016, to 11.6% in 2017.
  • The City & County of Honolulu’s total Index Crime rate and property crime rate decreased 7.6% and 8.5%, respectively, to reach record low levels in 2017. In 2017, the City & County of Honolulu’s burglary and larceny-theft rates also fell to record low levels.
  • Hawaii County’s total Index, violent, and property crime rates all increased by approximately 7.0% in 2017.
  • Maui County reported record low rates for total Index Crimes and property crimes in 2017, both decreasing by 0.9% as compared to 2016. Maui County’s violent crime rate fell by 1.5% in 2017, and its burglary and larceny-theft rates decreased to record low levels.
  • In 2017, Kauai County’s total Index Crime, violent, and property crime rates increased by 19.5%, 7.6%, and 20.8%, respectively. Kauai County reported a record low burglary rate for the year.
  • Thirty-nine murders were reported statewide in 2017, marking an 11.4% increase as compared to the prior year. Males comprised 84% of the alleged murder offenders and 67% of the victims in 2017.  Slightly more than half (53.9%) of the murder victims knew the offenders, and strongarm weapons (i.e., hands, fists, and feet) were used in about 41% of the murders.
  • Of the 3,010 murders, robberies, and aggravated assaults reported statewide in 2017, 43.3% were committed using strongarm weapons; 26.0% with “other” or unknown weapons; 19.0% with knives or other edged weapons; and 11.7% with firearms.
  • Approximately $66 million in property value was reported stolen in the State of Hawaii in 2017, down by 17.9% from the figure reported in 2016. Of the total value stolen in 2017, 24.4% was recovered, marking a decrease from the 32.2% that was recovered in 2016.
  • No police officers were killed in the line of duty in the State of Hawaii in 2017. The number of police officers assaulted (298) in the line of duty in the State of Hawaii in 2017 reached its lowest level in the last 10 years, yielding a rate of 10.1 assaults per 100 officers.  Crime in Hawaii, 2017 also provides data on the time of day, type of assignment, and the weapons used in assaults against police officers (see Appendix D).
  • In 2017, Kauai County’s total Index Crime, violent, and property crime rates increased by 19.5%, 7.6%, and 20.8%, respectively. Kauai County reported a record low burglary rate for the year.
  • On October 31, 2017, a total of 2,951 police officers and 778 civilians were employed by the four county police departments, denoting a 1.3% decrease in workforce from the figures reported from October 31, 2016.

* 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.

Note: This report was delayed due to issues relating to the State of Hawaii’s ongoing transition from the Summary Reporting System version to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) version of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.     

Record Crime Rates* 
State of Hawaii and Counties, 2017

State of Hawaii
Record low total Index Crime rate.
Record low property crime rate.
Record low burglary rate.
Record low larceny-theft rate.

City & County of Honolulu
Record low total Index Crime rate.
Record low property crime rate.
Record low burglary rate.
Record low larceny-theft rate.

Hawaii County
None.

Maui County
Record low total Index Crime rate.
Record low property crime rate.
Record low burglary rate.
Record low larceny-theft rate.

Kauai County
Record low burglary rate.

 * Within jurisdiction, since the start of statewide data collection in 1975.

Crime in Hawaii, 2017
Download the complete report (1.5 MB / 195 pp.)