‘93 Felonies: Some Good and Bad News : Crime: Violence rose in Santa Paula, and Port Hueneme homicides neared record. Yet overall picture was improved.

Violent crime in 1993 reached its highest level in six years in Santa Paula, while Port Hueneme had a near-record number of homicides, according to crime statistics released Friday.

But the overall number of crimes in both cities was down--dramatically so in Port Hueneme--even though each town’s small police force has been burdened by ever-tighter budgets and increasing demands for its services.

“We definitely feel underfunded and understaffed, considering the growth of the city,” said Chief Walt Adair of the Santa Paula Police Department. “We’ve already had to discontinue some services we provided to the community.”

Santa Paula’s crime rate for 1993 is again expected to be second only to Oxnard among Ventura County cities, Adair said. Robberies increased by 24% and assaults jumped by 47%, according to his department’s figures.

The huge jump in assaults was due to the department’s decision to include domestic violence cases for the first time in that crime category, Adair said. Domestic violence had previously been a separate category.

“Still, we’re concerned over the increase in violent crime,” he added.

To meet the increasing demands on police, the department has applied for a federal grant similar to one awarded to Fillmore a few weeks ago. The $300,000 grant sought from the Justice Department would be used to hire three additional officers for three years. The city will learn if the grant is approved in the spring.

The department is also depending on a new citizens’ patrol formed this month to offset increased demands for services, Adair said.

“If we can concentrate on stopping graffiti and on burglary, the police can concentrate on other things,” said Huguette Johnson, who helped form the citizens’ patrol with her husband, Don. “It saddens me to see the statistics. It’s not good for our image or property values.”

Others in the city say crime rates will remain high, no matter the number of police, if social problems are not addressed.

“Trying to make law enforcement responsible for the year-to-year changes in crime just isn’t realistic,” said City Councilwoman Margaret Ely. “Simply responding with more police is an easy answer for people because it removes the responsibility away from them. They don’t have to do anything. We’re trying to change that by being better neighbors in Santa Paula.”

In Port Hueneme, the city has seen a 36% drop in crime despite cutbacks in the city’s police force.

“It was a surprise to me,” said Chief John Hopkins. “I’m happy and I’d like to say that the decrease was due to the aggressive work of our officers, but I don’t know.”

In January of last year, the department cut three positions, dropping the force to just 19 officers. The cut was felt acutely, Hopkins said, when police were faced with three homicides in three months.

“When we had the three women killed back-to-back, that just about overwhelmed us,” Hopkins said. “We’ve caught up, though. We’re able to deal with the cuts.”

The five slayings in Port Hueneme last year were just one shy of the city record, which was set in the 1970s, Hopkins said.

Longtime council member Dorill Wright said the murder toll was way outside the norm. Hopkins agreed but said that, overall, the news was good.

He said his department, like Santa Paula’s, is meeting demands through innovative programs like citizen patrols. He speculated that the patrols may have contributed to the 37% drop in burglaries.

“We’ve had a lot of interest in the Neighborhood Watch programs this year--a lot of community help,” said Hopkins. “It seemed to make a difference, but all we know for sure is the number went down.”

Crime in Port Hueneme, Santa Paula in 1993

1990 1991 1992 19 Port Santa Port Santa Port Santa Port Hueneme Paula Hueneme Paula Hueneme Paula Hueneme Homicide 1 1 0 2 2 2 5 Rape 5 1 4 10 0 5 3 Robbery 39 30 37 59 46 50 35 Assault 266 109 251 81 208 101 209 Burglary 278 340 262 441 250 515 159 Theft 389 838 461 828 409 852 301 Auto theft 43 60 82 127 57 77 72 Arson 5 6 3 13 3 8 4 Totals 1,026 1,385 1,100 1,561 975 1,610 788

93 Santa Paula Homicide 2 Rape 10 Robbery 62 Assault 149 Burglary 519 Theft 744 Auto theft 104 Arson 1 Totals 1,591