Oxnard, Simi, Ventura Fight Car Theft Rise

The number of car thefts in Ventura County so far this year has increased about 6% over the same period last year, but some cities are reporting much higher increases and are scrambling for ways to put the brakes on the problem.

Oxnard police said there has been a 23% increase in car thefts from January through July 1, compared with the same period last year. Simi Valley police report a 20% increase for the six-month period.

Authorities in those cities and in Ventura, which has reported a slight increase in thefts during the period, said they are considering or are implementing Combat Auto Theft, or CAT, programs in an effort to halt the trend.

Participants in the CAT program authorize police to stop their vehicles if they are spotted on the road between 1 and 5 a.m. Each participant is given a rear-window sticker as a signal to patrol officers that the vehicle should not be operating during that time period.

Huntington Beach, San Clemente and San Diego are among cities in the state that have adopted the program.

Detective Gene Hostetler, one of two auto theft investigators with the Simi Valley Police Department, said he is pushing to establish a local version of the anti-theft operation.

“It would be a big help to us,” Hostetler said. “I think it’s worth a little inconvenience of being stopped, just to verify who is in your car.”

Hostetler said he hopes that the department will be able to go forward with its own program by fall.

Police officials in Oxnard said they are considering implementing a similar plan, and authorities in Ventura said they are in the final stages of putting a CAT program into effect.

Russ Hayes, crime prevention officer with the Ventura Police Department, said the CAT program has been approved by department heads and that stickers and pamphlets have been printed. Although an exact start date has not been set, Hayes said it will probably be in September.

“We’re going to be the first in the county to get it up and going,” Hayes said.

Meanwhile, Simi Valley police said one reason for the increase in vehicle thefts there is that the area is becoming more popular with car thieves from Los Angeles and Orange counties. Simi Valley is at the far eastern end of Ventura County, about three miles from the county line.

Los Angeles County is the largest county in the state and has the most car thefts. In 1989, there were 129,275 cars stolen in the county, a 10.7% increase over the previous year, according to the California Highway Patrol.

In contrast, Ventura County reported 2,044 vehicle thefts in 1989, up from 1,946 in 1988, the CHP said. Of the county’s 10 cities, Oxnard had the worst record, with 758 stolen cars. Simi Valley was second with 348 vehicle thefts, and Ventura was third with 329.

As of July 1, there were 191 vehicle thefts reported in Simi Valley, compared with 159 for the same period last year.

Police there said the proximity of affluent neighborhoods to the Simi Valley Freeway has made the city an attractive target for car thieves.

“They come over in tandems looking for cars to steal,” Hostetler said of the out-of-county rustlers. “They get off the freeway at Kuehner Drive or Yosemite Avenue, grab a car and hop back on the freeway all in a matter of minutes.”

Of the vehicle thefts reported in Simi Valley this year, 70 have occurred in the far eastern end of the city, near the county line.

Hostetler said the majority of cars stolen from Simi Valley are recovered in the northeast San Fernando Valley, in places such as Pacoima and San Fernando. A small percentage of cars have been recovered in Orange County, he said.

Oxnard officials attribute part of the increase in cars stolen there to organized theft rings working out of Los Angeles.

“We don’t recover many cars, and we make few arrests, very few arrests,” Detective David Keith said. “When a car is recovered, certain parts are missing, such as seats and stereos. Obviously this indicates to us it’s a ring.”

Keith cited a three-week period in which 28 Volkswagens were reported stolen in the city.

“I don’t have any hard evidence,” he said, “but my suspicion is that this was an auto theft ring from Los Angeles.”

Keith said such rings have expanded their markets to include Ventura County, which he and Hostetler said is also a dumping ground for cars stolen and stripped in Los Angeles.

Authorities agree that vehicle thefts will probably continue to rise and that more innovative approaches, such as the CAT program, are needed to curb the problem.

Gary Hassen, a crime specialist with the San Diego Police Department, said the city’s CAT program has been in place 18 months. He said 3,500 people have signed up for the program.

Between April, 1989, and April, 1990, 21 of the participants have had their cars stolen, 20 of which were later recovered, authorities said.

But Hassen said the most important part of the program is that it makes people more aware. They begin to take other preventive measures, such as installing special locks on their vehicles, he said.

Contributing to the problem is that vehicle theft is a low-risk, high-profit crime, authorities said.

“Vehicle thefts pose less threat to the thief than other types of property crimes,” Hostetler said. “A thief can easily break into unprotected cars late at night and drive away. It can be hours before the owner discovers the car missing and reports it to police.”

Although first-time offenders are still likely to receive probation or 30 days in Ventura County Jail, a new state law went into effect in January that doubles the penalty for car thieves with prior convictions. The new law also gives law enforcement the right, as with drug dealers, to seize the assets of those profiting from vehicle thefts.

Still, Hostetler said the laws could be tougher on first-time offenders.

“First-time offenders don’t really get punished, and they can make a lot of money before they get caught,” he said. “The penalty factor is just not there.”

In response to the surge in car thefts in Simi Valley and Oxnard, police recently began alerting neighborhood watch groups about the problem and what they can do to help resolve the problem.

Hostetler said police recommend use of anti-theft devices such as car alarms, cutoff switches and steering wheel lock bars as effective ways to deter would-be car thieves. He said motorists should park their cars in locked garages whenever possible. Otherwise, he said, vehicles should be parked in well-lighted areas.

Police also warn that the most popular vehicles tend to be Toyotas because of the marketability of the seats and stereos.

“There’s a high demand for Toyota parts,” Hostetler said. “You can get more money for them than for a Chevy or a Pontiac.”

VEHICLE THEFTS California Highway Patrol officials report that during the first six months of 1990 there were 898 vehicle thefts in Ventura County, representing a 6% increase over the same period last year. Oxnard and Simi Valley officials, however, are each reporting about a 20% increase.

Ventura Year County L.A. County 1980 2,244 84,085 1981 1,813 83,221 1982 1,661 88,482 1983 1,591 88,705 1984 1,624 85,819 1985 1,652 90,806 1986 1,793 103,683 1987 1,870 107,414 1988 1,946 114,785 1989 2,044 129,275