Homicide Rate in Oxnard Drops 73%

A year after Oxnard experienced a greater-than-usual number of homicides, police officials said Thursday that homicides in the city are down 73% in the first six months of 1997, compared with the same period last year.

Overall, crime in Oxnard was down 4.1% from Jan. 1 through June 30, compared with the same period last year, according to a midyear crime statistics report by Police Chief Harold Hurtt.

The most dramatic drop is in homicides, which plunged from 11 by June 30, 1996, to three through midyear 1997.

“We’re very pleased with this decline and we’re hopeful this trend continues,” Hurtt said.

The chief pointed out that the high number of homicides during the first half of 1996 was an anomaly and that the number of homicides so far this year is below historical patterns. Homicides reached a record high of 25 in 1979, according to police statistics.

Although homicides were down, rapes increased by 30% in the first six months of the year, from 27 to 35, Hurtt said. That number is still within the historical range, he said.

The only other crime category to show an increase through June 30 is robbery, which went from 216 incidents last year to 220 during the first half of 1997.

Assaults were down 34%, and as a whole, violent crimes, including homicide, rape and assault, were down 18%. But Hurtt attributed the decline in both categories to changes in the way some assaults are reported to the federal government.

For example, changes in state domestic violence laws, Hurtt said, mean that some felony violations under California law do not get reported as aggravated assaults under the federal Uniform Crime Report.

So far, 415 vehicles have been stolen in Oxnard this year, compared to 453 at mid-year in 1996, and burglaries are down from 604 to 601. Compared to 1984, Hurtt said, burglaries are down 64%.

Hurtt attributes the decline in auto theft and other property crimes to aggressive policing and the community-policing program, as well as the 1,000 residents who participate in neighborhood patrols.

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Oxnard Crime Statistics

These are crime statistics for the first half of 1997, compared to the same time period last year.

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1996 1997 % change Homicide 11 3 -73 Rape 27 35 +30 Robbery 216 220 +4 Assault* 318 210 -34 Burglary 604 601 -0.4 Larceny/theft 2,254 2,241 -1 Motor vehicle theft 453 415 -8 TOTALS 3,883 3,725 -4.1

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Source: Oxnard Police Department

*Most of the reduction in assaults is attributed to corrections in reporting methods.