Two Cities in East County Among Safest in the Nation : Crime: Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley are topped only by Amherst Town, N.Y., in the FBI’s six-month survey.

Thousand Oaks ranked as the second safest large city in the United States and Simi Valley was third safest during the first half of 1994, according to figures released today by the FBI.

For years, the two Ventura County cities have battled for bragging rights as the safest city in the nation with a population of more than 100,000. But for the first six months of 1994 they were both bested by an old rival, Amherst Town, N.Y.

From January through June, that Buffalo suburb reported 12.54 major crimes per 1,000 residents, while Thousand Oaks’ rate was 13.5 and Simi Valley’s 14.29.

During the full year of 1993, Simi Valley was the nation’s safest large city, with Amherst Town second and Thousand Oaks third. Simi Valley’s crime, however, edged upward during the first half of this year, while crimes dropped sharply in Amherst Town and Thousand Oaks.

A healthy mix of tough police work and crime-conscious residents has helped the two east Ventura County cities float near the top of the safe-city list for at least a decade, officials said.

By contrast, Oxnard--the only other local city with more than 100,000 residents--reported 29.76 crimes per 1,000 residents, a drop of 3.3% contrasted with the first six months of 1993.

The FBI tallies serious crime reported in more than 180 large U.S. cities, tracking murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, car theft and arson.

Two cities that have traditionally ranked among the safest, Livonia and Sterling Heights, Mich., did not file for the most recent six-month period.

Thousand Oaks recorded a dramatic 14.6% drop in the major crime rate in the first half of this year.

“That’s great news. I’m glad to hear it because we’ve been concentrating on keeping crime down in this city,” Mayor Alex Fiore said.

A neighborhood crime watch program, volunteer merchants’ patrol and other citizen-run crime-fighting groups have kept Thousand Oaks safe, as has hard work by sheriff’s deputies, Fiore said.

“I think all of it combined is beginning to pay off,” he added.

Sheriff’s Cmdr. Kathy Kemp, who oversees police protection for Thousand Oaks, credited the city’s safety record to good citizens, and to deputies who “are almost bulldogs in their efforts.”

Of Thousand Oaks’ residents, Kemp said, “They’re willing to get involved. They’re willing to get into the (sheriff’s) Citizen’s Academy, our Volunteers in Policing program, Neighborhood Watch.”

After a drive-by shooting last month wounded a Newbury Park woman, Kemp had expected about 30 neighborhood residents to show up at a meeting with police. About 225 showed up, she said.

“They want to know, ‘What can we do? How can we get involved?’ ” Kemp said. “They don’t just stand around saying, ‘We want you guys to fix it.’ ”

Simi Valley kept a steady hand on its major crime rate, which edged upward by only half a percent in the first half of 1994.

“I think it’s a combination of a community that wants to be safe and a Police Department that’s willing to work with them,” Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said.

“Our people call the police when they suspect things. The police respond quickly, and they catch people doing things,” he said. “We caught three guys in the act of rifling through a car the other day because someone called. Our hope is that that will deter enough criminals from coming to Simi Valley.”

Police Chief Willard R. Schlieter, in his first year on the job, credited Simi Valley’s residents and officers--as well as the mountain-rimmed geography of Simi Valley that leaves only six roads in and out of the city.

“When you can work on the minor kind of offenses that a lot of police departments don’t even address--the vandalism and petty theft which we look at and dig into (you can be effective),” Schlieter said. “They often are precursors to more serious crimes, and we’re really able to hit it.

“By and large, we’ve got a really cooperative public that does call us when they see something, and that’s very helpful,” he said.

Stratton said he hopes the crime rate is dropping in the second half of 1994, which could give Simi Valley a leg up on its next-door rival.

Of the January to June statistics, he noted: “It’s only six months.”

* CRIME DOWN: Serious offenses declined 13% in L.A., 3% nationally. A37