The survey instrument was based on the National Crime Victimization Survey. Of 3,000 Hawaii residents randomly selected to participate in the survey, questionnaires were returned by 1,377 individuals. About 27 percent of respondents were victims of someone breaking into or trying to break into their car, truck, or home; 17.1 percent had something stolen from their car or truck, and 13.2 percent had something stolen from their home. Of the respondents, 3.4 percent were hate crime victims and 4.7 percent were victims of a crime committed by someone they believed to be a gang member. Female victims represented 42.3 percent of the sample, compared to 37.5 percent males. Crime victims were more likely to be under 45 years of age. Reasons most often cited for not reporting a crime to the police were that the offenses were not important enough and that the police could not do anything about them. About 51 percent of respondents were afraid to walk in certain areas around their home, and fear of crime prevented at least 62 percent from doing things they would like to do at least some of the time. Nearly all respondents rated crime in Hawaii as serious or somewhat serious. Only 6 percent felt that violent crime decreased in their neighborhood over the past 3 years, while 22 percent said violent crime was worse. The most frequently reported method of securing the home or apartment involved installing extra door locks. Victimization was almost twice as high among the homeless and shelter residents than among the survey sample. 10 references, 5 endnotes, and 12 tables
Crime and Justice
NCJ Number
151442
Date Published
July 1994
Annotation
This survey of crime victimization in Hawaii found that 39 percent of those surveyed were crime victims in 1993; 11.4 percent were violent crime victims and 35.1 percent were property crime victims.
Abstract
Date Published: July 1, 1994