Thousand Oaks Again Safest Big City in U.S. : Law enforcement: The FBI says the municipality had the fewest major crimes in 1990.

Thousand Oaks had fewer major crimes last year than any of more than 170 cities with populations over 100,000, according to preliminary FBI crime statistics.

The city, which also had the lowest number of crimes of any major U.S. city in 1989, reported 3,116 major crimes in 1990. That was a slight increase over the 2,952 crimes reported in the previous year.

Local crime statistics show that Simi Valley is also one of the nation’s safest cities of 100,000 people or more.

Although Simi Valley had a population in 1990 of 100,217, it was not included in the FBI report. However, the Simi Valley Police Department said the city counted 3,143 major crimes in 1990.

The latest report is in line with others in recent years showing that Ventura County is one of the safest areas in the nation. FBI crime statistics for 1989 showed that Ventura County’s crime rate was the lowest in the West for counties with at least one city of 50,000.

Authorities credited Thousand Oaks’ low crime rate to citizens reporting problems. Residents are encouraged to participate in Neighborhood Watch programs and in a program that pays up to $1,000 for anonymous tips about crimes, authorities said.

“When you have all those eyes out there, the eyes of the citizens, you tend to have less interest in crimes because you know there’s good likelihood you’re going to be spotted,” Thousand Oaks Mayor Frank Schillo said.

In addition, since the early 1970s the city has been designing neighborhoods with increased lighting, visibility and quality fences and locks, authorities said. A deputy from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, which polices the city, makes safety recommendations on developments to the city’s Planning Department.

The low number of crimes may also be attributed to a homogeneous population without much disparity in economic groups, said Ventura County Assistant Sheriff Oscar Fuller.

Authorities warned against making comparisons between Thousand Oaks and some of the other cities listed in the study that may have a larger population and urban environment.

The FBI report released on Sunday includes almost all cities in the United States with populations over 100,000 that have reported their number of serious crimes in 1990. Serious crimes are defined as murder, aggravated assault, rape, robbery, theft, motor vehicle theft and burglary.

The number of serious crimes reported throughout the United States increased 1% from 1989 to 1990, the study said. Violent crimes of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault increased 10%. Property crimes decreased by 1%, the report said.

Thousand Oaks had a crime rate of 2,986 per 100,000 people in 1990, based on recent census figures. In 1989, Thousand Oaks had a rate of 2,832.6 crimes per 100,000, according to an FBI study.

Authorities attribute the increase in crimes to a jump in burglaries from 865 in 1989 to 935 in 1990. In addition, the number of thefts increased.

Authorities said the city’s safe image may have contributed to the increase in burglaries as people became lax in locking house and car doors.

Meanwhile, the number of murders in Thousand Oaks remained constant, with two in 1989 and two in 1990. The number of rapes, aggravated assaults and auto thefts dropped.

In contrast, there were 8,473 such crimes in Oxnard. Oxnard had 5,957.8 crimes per 100,000 people in 1990 and 5,949.5 crimes per 100,000 people in 1989, based on current U.S. Census figures.

Police Chief Robert Owens said the increase in crime could be attributed to an increase in population. In addition, the number of aggravated assaults jumped sharply from 490 in 1989 to 794 in 1990, statistics showed.

Owens said the statistics reflect more violence among young people, which may indicate a gang problem. However, Owens also attributed the increase in the number of aggravated assaults to department employees using the wrong code on reports, thereby classifying assaults that were misdemeanors as felonies.

The department is investigating the situation, Owens said.