Twice a week, Loraine Martinez and more than a dozen other residents of Honokai Hale deploy at dusk in golf carts and on foot to patrol their streets.

Wearing bright yellow T-shirts and orange reflective vests, they canvass their neighborhood of about 285 homes looking for suspicious activity.

Community policing tactics such as this, coupled with police efforts, have helped drive crime in Honolulu to a 10-year low, according to police and residents.

Since hitting a high in 2002 with 57,271 reported offenses, FBI statistics through 2006 show crime in Honolulu has fallen by more than 28 percent, with 40,943 crimes reported last year. The decrease comes as police continue to focus on repeat offenders and policing tactics that deter property crimes like car thefts and burglaries.

"We do have very good community involvement out in the district and that goes a long way," said police Maj. Michael K.S. Moses, supervisor of the Honolulu Police Department's Leeward Coast operations. "We have 87 neighborhood security watches in the district with over 4,000 members, and the community is very responsive and proactive."

Working with three donated golf carts, Martinez's group is a visible deterrent. Members say they have helped drive away drug dealers and other criminals that had targeted their slice of the Leeward Coast.

"Since we've been patrolling and shutting down (Kamokila Park), we don't have vagrants and drug dealers and the park is back to what it should be," said Martinez, a 67-year-old retiree who has had her home broken into three times. "It is a place I love and we all want to make a difference and if we don't do it, someone else will have to. The police can only do so much. It's our job to keep watch and keep our houses safe."

Residents and police officials say the only hope of reducing crime is a true partnership between citizens and law enforcement, and they point to successes such as the Honokai Hale citizens watch group.

While FBI statistics through 2006 show overall crime has decreased, the most recent data by neighborhood comes from HPD statistics through 2005 showing three areas of O'ahu still face persistent property and violent crime problems.

Here is a look at the highest-crime areas, and the steps being taken to reduce crime there.

POLICE DISTRICT EIGHT

Martinez's neighborhood is part of this sprawling area, which covers approximately 128 square miles and is home to roughly 120,000 residents. It counts the third-most number of total offenses, behind police districts one and three.

District eight includes 'Ewa Beach, 'Ewa, West Loch, Kalaeloa, Kapolei, Makakilo, Campbell Industrial Park, Honokai Hale, Ko Olina, Nanakuli, Lualualei, Ma'ili, Wai'anae, Makaha, Kea'au, Makua and Ka'ena Point.

The area has changed dramatically over the past decade with the construction of new housing and retail centers. During the last legislative session, the region received commitments totaling more than $300 million in construction money over the next two years from state, federal and private sources.

The most common crimes in the district are burglaries, car thefts, thefts and car break-ins. Through May 19, there have been 475 burglaries, 777 thefts, 541 car break-ins and 281 auto thefts.

"So many folks work out in town so there are a lot of folks that leave (early) and don't come home until late at night," said Maeda C. Timson, a Makakilo resident and a vice president at First Hawaiian Bank. "House break-ins are probably the crimes we hear complaints about the most."

There are 130 patrol officers working the district, and the ratio of police officers to residents is two officers for every 1,000 residents. While property and violent crimes create the most concern among residents, the majority of the 30,227 calls for service received through May 19 have been for miscellaneous complaints about traffic, parking and nuisance crimes.

Officers work with the neighborhood security groups and community developers on crime prevention, police said, distributing fliers with crime statistics and crime prevention tips.

"The property crime, the burglaries and the thefts are a concern, but on a day-to-day basis, the No. 1 concerns have to do with traffic and parking and the homeless on the (Wai'anae) Coast," said Moses, with HPD. "If you look at the population that we serve and the amount of officers we have, we have pretty good coverage."

POLICE DISTRICT ONE

Residents living in Downtown Honolulu reported more offenses than any other O'ahu police district in 2005, the last year that community police statistics were released by the HPD.

The district encompasses almost eight square miles in Downtown Honolulu, from Liliha Street to Punahou Street and from the ocean to Pacific Heights, Pauoa Valley and Makiki/Tantalus.

There are about 70,000 people in the district, with the majority living in condominiums and townhomes. The area's dense population makes it vulnerable to property crimes, robberies and assaults.

The presence of the Island's largest shopping center, Ala Moana Center, drives up theft and car break-ins every year as shoppers and merchants make easy targets for thieves.

"We have a very dense neighborhood and I think people (living Downtown) are a little more alert and aware and tend to stay out of bad areas," said John A. Breinich, a 64-year-old retired medical library director who lives on Ala Moana. "I don't think people feel unsafe despite there being a lot of crime in the area. I walk everywhere and I don't feel unsafe and thankfully we don't have a lot of violent crime."

Residents living Downtown have consistently complained about criminal activity stemming from the drunken antics of bar patrons in the party areas of Chinatown, Ke'eaumoku Street and Kaka'ako, police said.

Prostitution and street drug dealing have irked residents for years, although an increased police presence including the re-implementation of foot patrols in Chinatown have helped reduce the amount of visible crime in the area, residents say.

"I think we need to remain cautious because I know people who have been victimized," said Dyane Sih, a retiree who lives on Rycroft Street. "One of my older neighbors, someone walked up behind her and snatched her purse — and she uses a walker. This is the type of thing I am concerned with because my parents are 90 and 91."

POLICE DISTRICT THREE

This district reported the second most offenses on O'ahu in 2005 and, like the rest of the Island, the majority of the crimes were burglaries, thefts, car break-ins and auto thefts.

The district encompasses Pearl Harbor, Halawa, 'Aiea, Pearl City, Waipi'o, Waikele and Waipahu. About 150,000 people live in the area, and 41 neighborhood security watches count more than 1,000 people as members. There are 137 Honolulu police officers patrolling the district, or about one officer per 2,000 residents.

Both Pearlridge Shopping Center and 'Aiea Shopping Center attract many people. Three major roads — H-1 Freeway, Moanalua Freeway and Kamehameha Highway — run through the district, making it easy for thieves to drop in and drive out, police said.

"One thing that is unique about Pearl City is the demographics. The area is so diverse. We have military bases, we have two prisons, we have all the major freeways running through our district, we have major shopping centers, and that in itself leads to a lot of property crimes, auto thefts and car break-ins," said Honolulu police Maj. Deborah Tandal, supervisor of district three operations. "During the day, we have a problem with burglaries because everybody is at work and then at night everybody parks their cars on the road and we have an increase in car break-ins."

Police in the area work with community groups to develop strategies for securing their neighborhoods. Officers pass out fliers recommending that residents lock down their garages and not leave items visible inside their cars.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.