Decoy Police Car Program Promising

A decoy police car program that started last month seems to be working, authorities said Tuesday.

Wherever the decoys have been parked, there has been no crime, said Cmdr. Keith Parks, acting chief of the Ventura County sheriff’s station in Thousand Oaks.

“Right now, there’s nothing objective to measure the impact of the program, but several good things do come out of it,” Parks said. “One is that it serves as a reminder [for motorists] to slow down or to think twice before vandalizing a car.”

The decoy cars are parked for up to four hours at locations in various parts of the city. Any of the 25 regular black-and-white patrol cars that are not being used for patrol duties are used for the program, said Barbara D’anjou, volunteer program manager.

One place where the cars have been used is the Conejo Creek condominium complex, one of the more patrolled areas in Thousand Oaks, D’anjou said.

“People in Conejo Creek are pretty aware that every hour on the hour some type of police car is patrolling that area,” she said. “Police presence in general is very visible in that area.”