City May Beef Up Security at Offices

City officials are conducting a security review of the administrative building after a burglary at the Oxnard city manager’s offices.

A computer and monitor, a stereo and cassette recorder, and music CDs were stolen Sunday evening, said city spokeswoman Jeanette Villanueva-Walker.

The computer belonged to a secretary and did not contain sensitive information, Villanueva-Walker said.

City Manager Ed Sotelo called police after he discovered the burglary late Sunday.

Because so little equipment was taken, police believe Sotelo or other staffers working late might have interrupted the crime, police spokesman David Keith said.

Losses were estimated at several hundred dollars, Keith said.

The offices are on the fourth floor of the city administration building at 300 W. 3rd St., across from City Hall.

Investigators found fingerprints and are comparing them against police records, Keith said.

Police do not know how the burglar or burglars got into the offices, but are reminding workers to secure street-level entries.

Sotelo and the city will investigate whether a different entry system could make the offices safer, Villanueva-Walker said.

“We think security does need to be tighter up here,” she said. “It could have been a lot worse.”