Other than to joyride, many of the cars stolen in Hawaii are for the just the parts - not the entire car.

My family just returned from Oahu and drove a rental car around the island. Dollar didn't tell us one way or the other on leaving doors locked/unlocked. We locked ours and left nothing in the car other than wet swimsuits, clothes and once and awhile shoes. Our car was fine, but Oahu is marked with signs advising people not to leave anything valuable in cars.

The idea that because you are on an island your car will not be stolen is a naive one at best. Hawaii ranks third, only behind Arizona and Nevada in number of car thefts per capita.

But common sense dictates that you don't leave valuables in plain site and not at all in remote (and not so remote) areas. This is not a problem unique to Hawaii. The number of smash and grab vehicle thefts in SoCal beach communities easily surpasses the vehicle break-ins on the Hana Hwy.

As for gear on the beach, again, use common sense. There is nothing about Hawaii that makes its crime unique. I don't carry my purse down the beach here or anywhere else in the world. Leave it at the hotel, the condo or at home. I use disposable cameras on the beach. Theft is often a crime of opportunity, whether in Hawaii or anywhere else.

Look at the numbers:

ftp://ftp.cpja.ag.state.hi.us/users/...b/ctsmvt96.pdf

Taking 1995 as an example, a total of 4,664 car thefts were reported in the entire state of Hawaii. Of those, 4,289 occurred in the city and county of Honolulu. That leaves 375 for all the other islands combined.

My claim, that car theft "is virtually non-existent in Hawaii, at least on the outer islands" was a bit overstated, but not far from the truth.

We visited several islands in March. On Hawai'i, we were strongly warned by National about leaving luggage or valuables in the trunk at any site where we would be walking away from the car -- even at some of the more heavily visited areas such as Akaka Falls.

Many late model cars (as in the types you'd be getting from one of the major agencies) have a trunk release somewhere near the driver's seat, so if someone can get in the car (unlocked or locked), getting into the trunk is no problem.

A lot has happened since 1995. Just a few days ago I was handed a report called "Crime in Hawaii" for a project on which I am currently working for the city of Honolulu. While we still rank very low in violet crimes, personal property crimes put us at the top of the nation, placing us third for vehicle theft. The report shows 9,651 vehicle thefts commited in 2003, accounting for 14.7% of the property crimes in the state. Vehicle theft increased 41% statewide between 1994 and 2003, and only 70% of the vehicles are recovered.

The largest numbers for all crimes are found in Honolulu County, where 71% of the state's population is found. But the percentages are not that far off, as 85% of vehicle thefts were reported in Honolulu, it is increasing at a much faster reate on neighbor islands.

In Hawaii county there were 477 vehicle thefts, which may not sound like a lot, but consider the population is only 150,000 and that this is one car and change a day that is stolen on the BI. The Hawaii county reports a 60% recovery rate. On Maui there were 762 vehicle thefts in 2003 (I know at least two of the victims--it is a small island), increasing 104% since 1994.

I do not want to give the impression that cars are bing stolen everytime you park, but rather I am trying to dispel the myth that cars will not be stolen here. They are, and many of them are never recovered. Just because it looks like paradise on the outside is no reason to abandon the same common sense precautions you would take to protect your property anyplace else.

I always hear that myth that if you leave your car unlocked, car thieves will leave it alone.

My nephew had his lock punched on his car when the passenger side window was busted out from a break in two nights earlier! The radio was gone from the earlier theft, so they stole the headrests in the car!

Leaving the car open may allow thieves to take a quick peak inside without breaking the lock or window, but it also makes it really easy for the totally opportunistic thieves to more easily steal your radio, battery, spare tire, or the whole car. Don't forget that you or your insurance will be responsible for replacing these if they are stolen.

My advice: Lock your doors. Leave nothing in your car except a bunch of litter...fast food bags, rumpled newspapers, really dirty looking sneakers, etc... then park it next to a nicer car!

PS- I don't think we have more breakins than any other places where people leave their cars unattended in remote spots all day.

lcuy, I don't think we do either, but I do think we have more places where people leave their cars unattended, in a smaller geographic area. I don't have current figures for CA, but from personal experience I'd have to say there are more car break-ins on a daily basis in SoCal beach communities. In the past 20 years, I have had my car broken into at Huntington, Seal and Venice beaches.

But the national crime statistics are based on crimes per resident capita, and this does not include tourist population at the time. The fact that we lead the nation in personal property crimes does not mean have the most, just the most per resident, and car break-ins are second only to burglery in that category.

I also tend to think that many of these break-ins are crimes of opportunity. I see Jeeps, wide open, with luggage in the back seat in parking lots. I see people loading their belongings into their trunk at the beach, in plain view of everyone. And I have heard the laments--"Theives stole [my camera, my cell phone, my wallet, etc] from my car." Don't leave that stuff in the car and it won't get stolen!

I can't help but wonder if the increase vehicle theft and vandalism is in direct correlation to visitors being advised to leave thier cars unlocked? lol

I think a lot of nice people leave their common sense home when they come here on vacation... I see designer purses, expensivve cameras and gold watches left on towels on the beach all the time! I see parents sleeping while their todllers play in the sand, and see single female tourists walking or waiting on bus stops in dark areas late at night.

Theft is a problem anywhere, but thieves have found unattended cars to be a goldmine of valuable items.