HILO, Hawai'i — All four of the homicides on the Big Island during the past year involved alleged cases of domestic violence, and Big Island police say they have noticed a surge in domestic abuse arrests recently as well as cases in which domestic disputes escalate into potentially deadly confrontations.

Police and domestic violence experts say they don't know why there would be an increase in abuse cases or deaths, but the police department leadership has been discussing the apparent trend at meetings with Chief Lawrence Mahuna, said Assistant Chief Elroy Osorio Jr.

In addition to the four deaths of women, another woman involved in a domestic dispute was seriously injured earlier this year when a Glenwood man used his car to ram her vehicle on a Puna highway and then fatally shot himself in the head.

Police also are investigating a case in Ka'u in which a woman died of severe head injuries last week. Police arrested the husband of 56-year-old Yu Dejarnette in connection with her death, but the husband was later released without charges pending further investigation.

Osorio said police are making arrests in domestic cases, but that doesn't seem to be causing the numbers of cases to decline. Worse, the level of violence seems to be increasing, he said.

"It used to be just some pushing and shoving, no visible injuries kind of thing, and now we're seeing weapons being involved, and more brutality than anyone really wants to see," he said.

"We're all very concerned about why this is happening."

Steven Zodrow, executive director of Turning Point For Families, said he sees "a lack of interest, lack of awareness and caring about this issue" in the larger Big Island community. Turning Point provides shelter to abuse victims, as well as counseling and education services.

Service providers tried to underscore the problem during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October with candlelight vigils and a march, and the main event was attended by about 150 people.

But Zodrow estimated 90 percent of those participants were victims or their family members, or came from nonprofits and other agencies that deal with the problem.

"When a death occurs, there seems to be an immediate interest, but it doesn't progress to any movement," he said. "There's just no sincere interest, it appears to me, from the community to address this."

Police statistics to the end of August show domestic abuse cases on the Big Island are running ahead of figures for last year in all parts of the island except for Hilo and Puna, said Lillian Tavares, domestic violence and sex assault victim service coordinator with Big Island police.

As of the end of August, there were 622 cases reported on the Big Island, compared with 582 for the same period the year before. The largest increases were in Kona and South Kohala, while the numbers of reported cases dropped in Hilo and Puna.

However, Tavares believes the true number of domestic violence cases is higher. She said some abuse cases may never be reported because the victims don't want family members to be jailed.

She also identified 40 additional cases from January through August that were classified as assaults rather than domestic abuse but involved intimate partners, she said.

One of the problems Tavares cited is a lack of educational programs for the public. Most people don't have ready access to educational material on domestic abuse and may not know what to do when they observe or become involved in domestic violence.

Denby Toci, domestic violence advocate for Child & Family Service, said there needs to be a review of both the efforts to educate the public, and the police and court efforts to hold batterers accountable for what they have done.

"What I've been witnessing is too much victims and not enough reformed batterers," she said.

Some cases are dropped, or some abusers are sentenced to treatment programs that don't seem to have much effect, she said. "A lot of it is repeat offenders who are being ordered to get treatment for the second or third time," she said.

Both Tavares and Toci said more has to be done to get the public to report abuse or suspected abuse.

"Family is always the first safety net before the 911 call, because family sees everything," Tavares said.

Cindy Iannce-Spencer, director of client and community services for the Domestic Violence Clearing House and Legal Hotline, said most domestic violence homicides happen when women are finally leaving a relationship.

"That's the most dangerous time, and what we'd like to see is that when people make that decision to leave, they do it by talking with somebody at a domestic violence agency that can help them plan to do it in a way that will create safety for them," she said.

That may mean going to a shelter, or leaving the island entirely to go into hiding, she said.

Puna resident Andrena White, 37, said the rural lifestyle in some Big Island neighborhoods is "not allowing us to support each other."

White was a longtime friend of Sarah Fay, a pregnant woman who died last year after she allegedly was beaten by her boyfriend. Fay was left brain-dead after the attack but remained on life support until her baby son could be delivered.

"You can come here and hide out for months and months and months," White said of the Big Island. "There's a lot of land between houses, and because of that, it's sad to say but a lot of things can happen without other people hearing."