SANTA PAULA : Serious-Crime Rate Down 3.5% in 1990
The rate of serious crime in Santa Paula fell slightly last year, after a dramatic increase in 1989, but the numbers remained well above pre-1989 levels, the Police Department reported.
Reports of violent crime, theft, burglary and robbery totaled 1,385 in 1990, down 3.5% from 1,435 the year before. The sharp increase in 1989 reversed a gradual, nine-year decline to 1,124 offenses in 1988.
Thefts posed the most frequent threat in 1990, with 838 reported. The figure was down from 843 the previous year, but far above the 642 recorded in 1988.
The only category of serious crime that rose last year was assault, with 109 incidents compared to 95 the previous year.
One homicide and one rape were reported in the city in 1990, the same figures as in 1989. The city’s all-time highs were five slayings in 1979 and nine rapes in 1987.
Police officers handled a total of 18,996 enforcement actions in 1990, for offenses ranging from traffic violations to weapons arrests. The number peaked at 20,220 in 1989, after a steady, decade-long increase.
After a record 373 drunk-driving arrests in 1988 and 264 the next year, the rate fell to 229 in 1990.
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