SIMI VALLEY : Misdemeanors Fuel 15% Crime Increase

Crime in Simi Valley rose 15% overall in 1992, but the increase is attributable largely to a rise in the number of misdemeanor violations rather than serious crime, according to a police report released Wednesday.

Serious crimes--including murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, auto theft, larceny and arson--were up just 2.8% last year over 1991, the report showed.

But reports of misdemeanor crimes rose by 24.4%, an increase police attribute largely to their focus in 1992 on crimes such as misdemeanor vandalism--including a crackdown on graffiti--and more time spent on narcotics enforcement.

The number of violent crimes against people totaled 365, a decrease of 12.4% compared with 1991, the report showed. There were two homicides in the city in 1992, compared with six in 1991 and one in 1990. Also in 1992, police recorded 153 aggravated assaults, two fewer than 1991, and 11 rapes, two fewer than the year before.

Residential burglaries rose 8.2% while the overall burglary rate was down 1.5% compared to the previous year. Arrests for burglaries increased 18.9%.

The report also showed 40 arson cases in 1992, a 48.1% increase over the previous year. The report noted that the Police Department’s ranks grew by two officers last year, to 107.