Crime Dips to Record Low, Report Says

The rate of serious crime in areas patrolled by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department dropped by 1% in 2000, continuing a downward spiral that marks the lowest point since crime records were first kept in 1973.

There were 30 fewer violent crimes in 2000 than in 1999, with the combined total of homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults dropping from 590 to 560. Property crimes such as burglary and theft rose slightly from 4,712 in 1999 to 4,769, but when measured at a rate per 1,000 residents, the number remained virtually unchanged.

While pleased with the trend, Sheriff Bob Brooks cautioned that the numbers have probably fallen as low as they will go in light of a “population bubble” of adolescent males moving toward early adulthood. Males in their late teens and early 20s are responsible for much of the street crime, Brooks said.

“We know that most of the crime indicators are going in the wrong directions,” Brooks said. “But holding your own in the face of a rising crime population is significant.”

Brooks credited tough enforcement, increased patrols in neighborhoods and greater cooperation with residents and business owners as primary reasons for falling crime in Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Ojai, Fillmore, Moorpark and unincorporated areas of the county.

Homicides in the county dropped from 11 in 1999 to 7 in 2000, a 36% decrease. Robberies dropped by 19%, while aggravated assaults dropped 5.3%.

Of the five cities patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department, Moorpark showed the biggest drop in serious crimes, falling 19.2% from 407 to 329. Serious crimes include everything from homicide and rape to petty theft.

Capt. Frank O’Hanlon, who until recently was in charge of the Moorpark station, said much of the drop in crime is connected to the arrest and incarceration of several “hard-core” gang members living in the area.

In Ojai, 2000 brought an 11.5% drop in serious crime, while Camarillo posted a 1.6% increase, which authorities attributed to spikes in the number of petty and grand thefts. Thousand Oaks, often ranking as one of the safest large cities in the nation, posted a 6% increase in serious crimes, due in large part to the number of rapes.

There were 23 rapes in Thousands Oaks last year compared with 9 the previous year, a 156% increase. Cmdr. Keith Parks, who oversees the east county sheriff’s station, said the upward spiral reflects a willingness on the part of rape victims to report the crime.

Nearly all of the rapes involved acquaintances of the victims, “young women who were raped by people they knew and people they trusted,” Parks said.

Car burglaries also increased because the city was targeted by two serial burglars, Parks said. They accounted for much of the jump in vehicle burglaries, from 156 in 1999 to 210 in 2000, and spurred a movement to increase awareness among people parked at the city’s many fitness clubs, where most of the burglaries occurred, Parks said.

Sheriff investigators have arrested one suspect in connection with car burglaries, but they are still searching for a second, he said.

“This is a safe place to live, a safe place to work and a safe place to go to school,” Parks said.

Fillmore, which last year posted the most dramatic drop in serious offenses, saw a reversal of fortunes in 2000. Serious crimes increased in the rural city of 13,250 by 31%, from 248 to 324. Accounting for much of the crime boost were increases in arson, auto theft, vehicle burglaries and petty thefts.

Sheriff’s spokesman Eric Nishimoto said Fillmore’s spike does not necessarily mean the city is any less safe than it was last year, because the actual number of crimes committed are relatively small. The number of arsons increased from two to six, a 200% increase.

“But we are talking about a very small total number,” Nishimoto said. “You would expect some volatility year to year. With many of our smaller cities it’s difficult to gauge trends year by year because the percentages jump up and down so dramatically.”

In unincorporated county areas, violent crime dropped by 13% and property crimes fell by nearly 4%. There was a marked decrease in the number of arsons, which fell 52% from 31 in 1999 to 15 last year.