OXNARD : Police Chief Outlines New Goals, Tactics

Oxnard traffic officers will soon begin using hand-held computers that print out a violator’s ticket on the spot and shorten the length of time it takes to fill out a citation.

Police officers also will begin sending under-aged cadets into liquor stores to try to purchase alcohol and issue citations to any violators.

Those and other police tactics and goals were discussed Tuesday at the Oxnard City Council meeting, when Chief Harold Hurtt delivered his department’s annual status report.

“We’re going to throw the old ticket book out,” Hurtt told the council. “This will practically eliminate any mistakes.”

Hurtt presented a series of statistics that show crime in several categories dropping over previous years. But other offenses, such as murder, arson and car thefts, rose in 1993, the chief said.

“The Oxnard Police Department is sworn to the security of our community, protection of the rights of all people and is dedicated to courteous and professional service,” Hurtt told the council.

The police chief detailed a series of programs aimed at achieving a better quality of life for Oxnard residents.

Among them are more community-based policing. Also, Hurtt plans to step up the bike cops program, which now has 15 officers and six reserves patrolling city streets on mountain bikes.

“Sometimes, the (drivers) are sitting there with a beer between their legs or drinking, and the officers can ride up on them,” Hurtt told the council.

The department also vowed to strengthen its commitment to intervention and prevention programs that Hurtt credited with lowering crime statistics on a long-term basis.