Crime Is Down, but Victims’ Needs Remain High

Although cops are celebrating the plunging crime rate, victims advocates say they are helping more people than ever.

Linda Finnerty, an advocate with the district attorney’s office, said she and her associates assisted 16,117 crime victims last year, compared with 15,911 in 1998, 14,648 in 1997 and 11,155 in 1996.

This is a 44% increase over four years.

To bring attention to the pain and suffering of victims and recognize the people who help them, Ventura County officials will celebrate National Crime Victims’ Rights Week starting today.

“Unfortunately, we are not going out of business any time soon,” Finnerty said.

The theme of the local celebration, which is scheduled to include a march around the Government Center and a ceremony on Wednesday, is “Justice for All.” More than 100 people are expected.

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Think before you speak, because it may save your wallet, cops say.

A woman allegedly posing as an Oxnard police investigator has been calling traffic crash victims and the Department of Motor Vehicles, requesting driver’s license and Social Security numbers and dates of birth.

Using the alias Carol Wane, the female caller is probably using the information to obtain state identification cards and credit cards, authorities said.

“If someone assumes your identity, they can get a lot of new credit cards and buy a lot of things--especially online and telephonically,” said Oxnard Police Sgt. Lee Wilcox.

Authorities warn that people should always verify a caller’s identity before giving out personal information and shred unwanted credit card applications that arrive in the mail.

Here’s another fine example of community policing.

Using a license plate number and suspect description provided by a resident, police said, they uncovered a major cache of hot property and arrested a man in connection with dozens of burglaries in Ventura, Oxnard and Santa Paula.

The tips came from a guy whose home was one of many locations burglarized by a pair of thieves who started their crime spree last July, said Ventura Police Sgt. Skip Young.

James Dean Robbins, 44, was jailed on suspicion of receiving stolen property and is the prime suspect in the burglaries, including more than two dozen that occurred near Ventura College, Young said.

Cops are still looking for his alleged partner in crime.

During a search of Robbins’ Santa Paula home Saturday, officers found his garage full of jewelry, power tools, coin collections, silverware and suitcases he allegedly stole for toting the loot, Young said.

“This guy’s been real active,” Young said.

The sergeant valued the items at several thousand dollars.

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More than two years after authorities vowed to clean up the county’s problem-plagued crime lab, the facility is back in the hot seat over allegations of faulty equipment and improper training.

One problem that could jeopardize dozens of drunk-driving cases involves machines used by local police to measure alcohol levels of suspected drunk drivers, authorities said.

In some cases, results logged by breath machines used in the field differed from results of the same tests that were forwarded to a computer at the crime lab, the district attorney’s office reported.

It’s just a computer glitch, but defense attorneys are angry because lab employees didn’t immediately reveal the problem, according to Deputy Public Defender Brian Vogel.

Defense attorneys are also irked that 35 California Highway Patrol officers have been operating the breath machines without proper training, according to prosecutors.

The county’s crime lab came under fire in 1997 and hundreds of drunk-driving cases were scrutinized in the courts because of flawed testing and problems with the lab’s certification.

“This lab has continued to have problems over and over,” Vogel said. “It’s a scary thing because now they’re seeking certification to deal with DNA.”

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Holly J. Wolcott can be reached at 653-7581 or at holly.wolcott@latimes.com.