Thousand Oaks, Oxnard Post 12.3% Drop in Crime : Survey: Law enforcement officials in both cities praise community-policing efforts for declining figures. But Simi Valley sees a 6.8% increase during the first six months of 1995.

Crime in Thousand Oaks and Oxnard fell sharply during the first six months of 1995 compared to the same period last year, but continued on an upward trend in Simi Valley, according to the state attorney general’s office.

In a survey of big-city crime released Monday, Thousand Oaks and Oxnard each reported 12.3% decreases from January through June, outpacing the overall statewide drop of 7% in cities with populations of 100,000 or more.

In Thousand Oaks, traditionally one of the nation’s safest big cities, violent crime fell 28.3% while property crime fell 6.2%. In Oxnard, an 8.5% increase in violent crime was offset by a 23% drop in property crime.

During the same period, crime in Simi Valley shot up 6.8%, including an 11% jump in violent offenses and a 5.8% increase in property crimes.

The six-month figures, drawn from reports of 63 police and sheriff’s departments in large cities, revealed a downward trend in all six categories of reported offenses: homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary and auto theft.

Law enforcement officials in Thousand Oaks and Oxnard credit a continued commitment to community-oriented policing for the recent gains, pointing to such crime-fighting strategies as the opening of storefront police stations and the formation of citizen patrols.

“Cops can’t do it alone,” said Sheriff’s Cmdr. Kathy Kemp, who acts as police chief of Thousand Oaks. “If you don’t have a community that is willing to get involved, you’re not going to get too far.”

For Oxnard, Ventura County’s largest city and among its poorest, the downturn continues a decline in crime that has been continuing for more than two years.

And while the gains have come almost exclusively in crime categories that have little to do with personal safety--such as burglary and auto theft--police officials are nevertheless encouraged.

“Naturally, we’d like to make changes by leaps and bounds,” said Assistant Police Chief Stan Myers. “But from a positive standpoint, our community has rallied together with our officers in a great spirit of cooperation and we continue to make progress.”

Likewise, crime has fallen sharply in Thousand Oaks for 18 months, after an 8.6% reduction in 1994. The declines reflect a reduction in violent offenses and a sharp decrease in theft and burglary.

In Simi Valley, progress is harder to measure.

The east county city--which earlier this year was pushed from the top of the nation’s list of safe large cities--has been shaken in recent months by the slaying of Officer Michael Clark, the slaying of two young children by their suicidal father and the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man by a rival gang member.

Total Simi Valley crime rose 9.5% from 1993 to 1994. And during the first half of this year, there were 645 crimes reportable under the California Crime Index, compared to 604 during the first six months of last year.

The half-year total includes three homicides, eight forcible rapes, 24 robberies and 85 aggravated assaults.

But Police Chief Randy Adams, who has only been on the job a few weeks, said the statistics could be deceiving, noting that crime totals appear high only when compared with those of 1993, when the city ranked as the safest of its size in the nation.

Furthermore, the city still ranked as the third-safest big city in the nation last year.

“Simi Valley is an extremely safe city and continues to be an extremely safe city even with these statistics,” Adams said. “Any upward trend is of course a concern . . . and we want to see what kind of programs can be put in place to reverse that trend.”

Kemp in Thousand Oaks said that while the statistics are encouraging and a source of pride for residents and deputies who patrol the city, she constantly warns against becoming complacent.

“Every time we get these statistics I always say don’t get lax,” Kemp said. “The moment you get lax is the moment we will lose it.”

* STATEWIDE FIGURES

Decrease of 7% continues trend that started three years ago. A3

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California Big-City Crime

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OXNARD Overall Crime 2,274 1,995 -12.3% Violent Crime 777 843 +8.5% Property Crime 1,497 1,152 -23%

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THOUSAND OAKS Overall Crime 554 486 -12.3% Violent Crime 152 109 -28.3% Property Crime 402 377 -6.2%

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SIMI VALLEY Overall Crime 604 645 +6.8% Violent Crime 108 120 +11.1 Property Crime 496 525 +5.8%

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*Total homicides, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries and auto thefts in first six months of year.

Source: State Attorney General’s Office