Violent Crime Down in Ventura

With serious violence plummeting, reported crime dipped slightly in Ventura last year despite an increase in larceny and auto theft, police reported.

Felony violence fell 18% in 2001, as aggravated assaults dropped from 230 to 160, a reduction police attributed partly to a crackdown on youth gang members.

“We’ve had a very successful gang violence suppression program,” Ventura Police Lt. John Garner said. “I’m sure that’s been a major contributor. I know that’s made a major difference in our city.”

Ventura remained, however, the local city with the highest crime rate for the eight categories of violence and property offenses included in the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Reports.

Ventura’s crime rate of 32.9 offenses per 1,000 residents is slightly higher than Oxnard’s and Santa Paula’s. But when violence alone is considered, Ventura’s rate is far lower than that of its two closest neighbors.

Ventura’s violent-crime rate--a ratio of murder, rape, robbery and felony assaults to population--was 2.7 per 1,000 residents last year, compared with 4.6 in Oxnard and 4.3 in Santa Paula.

Total offenses in Ventura dropped by three crimes last year, to 3,370, compared with the year before. But that plateau comes after a decade of sharp decline. Since 1991, serious crime in Ventura is down about 40%.

“There’s been a decline across the nation, “ Garner said. “There’s been a buy-in to do more community policing.”

That doesn’t mean there are more officers on the street.

“It means that a patrol officer, who 10 years ago was more reactive to crime, is now more proactive to his beat,” Garner said. “He recognizes that if he doesn’t do something about a problem soon, it may result in a crime.”

In addition to a 30% drop in serious assaults, home and business burglaries dropped nearly 13% last year, from 646 to 565.

Garner said that is because thieves have shifted their focus from breaking into buildings to stealing identities. Countywide, identify theft is one of the fastest-growing criminal enterprises, authorities say.

“We believe a lot of people who were committing burglaries are now finding it more financially rewarding to do identity theft or theft of mail,” Garner said.

That often consists of stealing credit card or bank account numbers from the mail or dumpsters behind retail businesses, he said.

So while burglaries were down 81, thefts were up 116.

Vehicle thefts also increased sharply, from 196 to 231. Garner said crime analysts don’t really know why, although thieves stole more often from auto dealerships last year than in previous years.

Rape was the only violent crime category to show an increase--from 18 to 28.

“When you look at that number, you think, ‘Do we have a serial rapist?’” Garner said. “But of those cases, the assault was by an acquaintance, a husband, ex-husband, boyfriend or friend.”

Of the 28 cases, 11 were attempted rapes, he said. And in five of the assaults, the victims thought they had been drugged.

“These types of cases are being reported more because of an increase in awareness by the public,” Garner said. “[Date rape] has been in the media a lot more.”

Ventura crime has been up sharply since two years ago, partly because of a change in crime reporting procedures. In mid-2000, the Police Department began to follow FBI guidelines by documenting petty thefts when citizens first report them, instead of waiting for follow-up paperwork.