At more than $76 million, the value of property stolen in Honolulu last year was the highest ever, with motor vehicles, jewels, precious metals and cash accounting for most of the take.

The value of stolen property, more than $30 million higher than the previous year, increased even as the number of reported crimes went down.

The figures are included in the Honolulu Police Department's just-released annual report for 2005.

One resident who has felt the sting of property crimes is 32-year-old construction worker Zach Aplaca, who had items stolen in burglaries and break-ins in 2004, 2005 and this year. Aplaca, a North Shore resident, said he has been a victim more than a dozen times in the past 10 years.

Four months ago, Aplaca lost more than $1,000 worth of tools after thieves broke into his Ford Explorer by smashing a window.

"It feels like cutting your hands off because it's hard for me to do my job without my tools," he said.

Overall, O'ahu residents and visitors lost $76 million in property last year compared with $45 million in 2004 and $39 million in 2003. Motor vehicles, jewels, precious metals and cash accounted for more than $50 million of the 2005 total.

Office equipment, clothing, furs, televisions, stereos and other electronics made up about $10 million of all stolen goods.

$22 MILLION RECOVERED

Meanwhile, police recovered about $22 million worth of items stolen last year.

The spike in value is partly attributable to criminals targeting more valuable items since police in all eight patrol districts have stepped up their enforcement of property crimes, police said. Chief Boisse Correa created district-specific property crime task forces more than two years ago.

As part of the task force approach, commanders in all eight police patrol districts seek to identify criminals who have lengthy property crime histories. Detectives then focus on those individuals known to roam their beats.

Property crimes have fallen every year since 2002, with the number decreasing to 42,383 in 2005 from 54,670 in 2002.

Honolulu police do respond to more property crime calls than departments in comparable jurisdictions on the Mainland. Typically, property crimes are among the hardest to solve since most don't have any witnesses.

Several factors can contribute to the value of stolen property increasing, one of which is increased experience of career property criminals, said Ron Becker, chairman of the criminal justice program at Chaminade University.

"Thefts are an opportunistic crime. There are going to be some that are career criminals and begin to specialize and develop acumen and expertise in areas of theft," Becker said. "I suspect it means we need to be a little more careful in where we go, what we do and how we do it."

BETTER CRIME TALLIES

Police also attribute the increase to a new records management system that allows officers to better tally the financial impact of property crimes. In the past, officers were unable to accurately tally the total amount of property taken in a crime.

According to the annual report, burglaries accounted for $14,888,134 of the total taken in property crimes. Simple thefts, such as pickpockets, accounted for $21,618,963. Robberies accounted for $762,792.

The area most targeted by thieves last year was Honolulu Police District 1, where 7,126 burglaries, thefts and car thefts took place. The district covers the Downtown Honolulu area from Liliha Street to Punahou Street and Round Top Drive to Ala Moana Beach, including Aloha Tower. It is home to about 70,000 people.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.