Crime Rate Falls 9.1% in County, Hits 15-Year Low : Statistics: A dramatic 13.7% drop in Oxnard, the largest and most dangerous city, plays a role in the overall decline, officials say.

Crime in Ventura County fell by 9.1% in 1993, to a rate of 38.3 serious crimes per 1,000 residents--the lowest in at least 15 years.

The rate was driven downward by a dramatic 13.7% drop in crime in Oxnard--the county’s largest and usually its most crime-ridden city--and by double-digit percentage drops in crime in Port Hueneme, Fillmore and Simi Valley.

Ventura County still enjoys one of the lowest crime rates for an urban area in the United States, but the statistics released by its law enforcement agencies show that the county grew even safer overall in 1993.

The 9.1% decrease in serious crimes countywide followed an increase in crime of 15.9% from January, 1990, to December, 1992.

Violent crime fell by 3.4% countywide, the first time since 1989 that Ventura County has enjoyed a decline in the number of homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults. The rate had actually increased by 27.1% from 1990 to 1992.

And property crimes fell off by 9.8% in 1993, after increasing by 14.4% during the previous three years.

Law officers across the county took some credit for the property crime decrease, saying they arrested more drug suspects than ever before, cleaning the streets of people who often steal.

Undersheriff Richard Bryce said deputies made 390 more drug arrests last year than in 1992 in the unincorporated areas of Ventura County and in the five cities that his department covers--Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai and Thousand Oaks.

The drug arrests and more cooperation from the public have helped cut property crime, he said.

Yet while crime decreased overall countywide, the contract cities and unincorporated areas protected by the Sheriff’s Department suffered a 4.9% increase in violent crimes in 1993.

That was not as steep as the 15% increase in violent crimes in those areas reported to the sheriff in 1992, but it is “a great concern,” Bryce said.

“I just think we’re becoming more of a violent society and acting out our frustrations,” he said. “You especially see that in the home.”

Seven out of 10 violent crimes reported to the Sheriff’s Department were aggravated assaults, nearly one in four springing out of domestic disturbances, he said. In one out of 12 aggravated assaults, a deputy sheriff was the victim, he said.

Taken as a whole, however, the 3.4% decrease in violent crimes across Ventura County was a welcome turnaround from an 8.5% increase reported in 1992.

Port Hueneme enjoyed the steepest decrease of serious crime of any Ventura County city, dropping 21.2% in 1993, followed by Fillmore with a 20% decrease and Simi Valley, where crime fell by 18.5%.

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Port Hueneme residents and businesses reported 36.4% fewer burglaries and 26.4% fewer thefts in 1993 than the previous year, according to statistics the city reports each year to the FBI.

Port Hueneme may also have fared better than usual in its number of property crimes because a rash of residential burglaries that traditionally afflicts people at Christmastime failed to develop, Port Hueneme Police Chief John Hopkins said.

“We didn’t have that until after the first of the year this year,” he said.

Fillmore residents also reported less property stolen in 1993, with a decrease of 22.2% in burglaries and 24.1% fewer thefts.

Yet one of the most dramatic turnarounds occurred in Oxnard, where crime decreased by 13.7% in 1993--the lowest crime rate in 20 years.

Oxnard remains the most violent city in Ventura County. While 21% of Ventura County residents live there, 43% of all violent crimes are committed there.

But that trend may be reversing. Just two years ago, 47% of the violent crimes in Ventura County were committed in Oxnard.

There were 1,446 violent crimes reported in Oxnard in 1993--a drop of 180 from the previous year--and 7,244 property crimes, a decrease of 1,194 from 1992.

“I think there’s been a lot of hard work by the officers on the street, as well as support from neighborhood patrols and Neighborhood Watch groups,” Oxnard Police Chief Harold Hurtt said. “You’ve got to count on a little luck, too.”

In Santa Paula, however, violent crimes reached a six-year high in 1993. The crime rate there swelled to the highest in the county--59.5 crimes per 1,000 Santa Paula residents, compared with 58.1 per 1,000 Oxnard residents.

The number of robberies in Santa Paula increased 24% to 223 in 1993, and assaults jumped 47% to 149.

By contrast, Moorpark, with a population of 26,700, enjoyed the lowest crime rate in Ventura County--19.4 crimes per 1,000 residents.

Moorpark, Camarillo, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks remained the county’s safest cities.

Simi Valley had only 28.1 serious crimes per 1,000 residents, while Thousand Oaks had 29.9 per 1,000. The statistics promise to keep the two cities among the safest in the United States with populations of more than 100,000.

Both rates were better than the lowest crime rate recorded last year by the FBI--30 crimes per 1,000 in Amherst Town, a suburb of Buffalo, N. Y.

Simi Valley’s violent crime rate remained about the same, but it reported 19.6% fewer property crimes than in 1992, due in large part to more police work, Capt. Jerry Boyce said.

“The only thing we’ve done differently is we’ve doubled the size of our Special Enforcement Detail (to six),” he said.

In Ventura, violent crimes decreased markedly, from 453 in 1992 to 396 last year--with almost all of the drop occurring in robbery, which dropped from 186 to 139.

Police said they are encouraged by the decrease, but they noted that crime patterns fluctuate from year to year.

“Things go down and things go up,” said Sgt. Bob Anderson, supervisor of the Ventura Police Department’s major crimes unit. “I don’t know if you can count on any particular reason or credit any particular effort.”

VENTURA COUNTY CRIME STATISTICS

Agg. City Year Homicide Rape Robbery assault Burglary Camarillo 1992 1 4 42 86 314 1993 1 9 42 83 264 Fillmore 1992 0 4 9 71 158 1993 1 5 5 60 123 Moorpark 1992 1 4 11 42 174 1993 1 3 12 50 162 Ojai 1992 0 2 3 11 87 1993 1 0 11 15 84 Oxnard 1992 17 75 569 965 2,134 1993 19 55 464 908 1,615 Port Hueneme 1992 2 0 46 59 250 1993 5 3 35 72 159 Santa Paula 1992 2 5 50 101 515 1993 2 10 62 149 519 Simi Valley 1992 2 11 76 178 760 1993 0 16 54 185 611 Thousand 1992 1 17 79 204 797 Oaks 1993 3 23 67 227 657 Ventura 1992 4 35 186 227 1,365 1993 10 30 139 217 1,274 Countywide 1992 35 184 1,188 2,130 7,111 1993 46 180 924 2,190 6,097

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Auto Crimes per City Year theft Theft Arson Total 1,000 people Camarillo 1992 728 89 19 1,283 23.1 1993 793 88 17 1,297 22.9 Fillmore 1992 241 22 4 509 40.9 1993 183 32 6 415 32.4 Moorpark 1992 262 52 9 555 21.1 1993 239 44 8 519 19.4 Ojai 1992 202 12 2 319 38.2 1993 160 19 5 295 37.6 Oxnard 1992 5,145 1,109 50 10,064 67.3 1993 4,425 1,148 56 8,690 58.1 Port Hueneme 1992 409 57 3 826 41.2 1993 301 72 4 651 31.8 Santa Paula 1992 852 77 8 1,610 61.3 1993 744 104 1 1,591 59.5 Simi Valley 1992 2,034 446 40 3,547 34.5 1993 1,632 370 24 2,892 28.1 Thousand 1992 1,884 351 41 3,374 31.5 Oaks 1993 1,903 334 55 3,269 29.9 Ventura 1992 3,201 381 58 5,457 57.2 1993 2,999 402 58 5,129 53.4 Countywide 1992 15,868 2,757 282 29,471 42.7 1993 14,310 2,781 280 26,808 38.3

Sources: Ventura County Sheriff’s Department; police departments in Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley and Ventura

County Crime Trends, 1990-93 Crime Overall Increased: 15.9%, 1990-92 Decreased: 9.1%, 1993 Context: County has one of the lowest crime rates in U.S.

Crimes per 100,000 residents 1990: 39.6 1991: 43.7 1992: 42.7 1993: 38.3

Violent Crime Increased: 27.1%, 1990-92 Decreased: 3.4%, 1993 Context: Oxnard’s share of county’s total was 43%, down from 47% in 1991. Crimes per 100,000 residents 1990: 4.3 1991: 5.2 1992: 5.5 1993: 4.8

Property Crime Increased: 14.4%, 1990-92 Decreased: 9.8%, 1993 Context: Simi Valley, Fillmore and Port Hueneme all had drops of at least 19% in 1993.

Crimes per 100,000 residents 1990: 36.3 1991: 38.4 1992: 37.2 1993: 33.5