Increasing engagement among law enforcement and community groups in Oxnard contributed to a decline in serious crimes in the city this year, police and community groups said.

Oxnard police Wednesday announced a 12.2 percent decrease in serious crimes reported during the first six months of 2007, compared to the same period in 2006.

The downturn in criminal incidents continues a consistent decline since 1992, when crime peaked in the city.

The mid-year report includes four types of violent crimes — homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — and three kinds of property crimes — burglary, auto theft and larceny.

Those seven are known as "Part 1" crimes based on how they are categorized in the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. The Department of Justice collects the statistics, designed to be comparable, from police departments nationwide.

A total of 2,484 Part 1 crimes were reported in Oxnard from January through June 2007, compared to 2,830 the year before, according to a statement from the Oxnard Police Department.

Property crimes fell by nearly 16 percent to 2,027 from 2,407.

Steep downturns in burglary and larceny accounted for much of the decline this year.

Burglaries fell by 100 to 424, and reported larcenies dropped by 227 to 1,339.

Auto thefts went down by 53 to 264.

Police Chief John Crombach attributed much of the decline in property crime to an increasingly close relationship among police and community groups such as neighborhood watches.

Roger Pariseau, chairman of the Freemont North Neighborhood Council, said car break-ins and thefts have dropped off dramatically in his neighborhood since the neighborhood started a watch patrol in the mid-1990s.

"We had a lot of crime problems in this neighborhood before we had watch patrol, and it went down immensely, and it stayed down pretty much," Pariseau said.

Shirley Godwin, chairwoman of the Saviers Road Design Team, was "pleasantly surprised" last month when the beat officer at the advocacy organization's meeting displayed a crime map of south Oxnard that was sparsely dotted, she said.

Reflecting the community

Most complaints at the meeting revolved around police responses to everyday issues such as noise complaints, rather than murders and drive-by shootings, she said.

Oxnard's large Latino community has also become more comfortable with local police over the past decade, said Reyna O'Neil, executive director of El Concilio del Condado de Ventura, an umbrella organization for local Latino advocacy groups.

"The Police Department has done an exemplary job in making sure the Police Department reflects the community it serves," O'Neil said. "We have more Latino officers, we have more bilingual officers. They are our neighbors."

Violent crimes went up by 8 percent, to 457 reported in the first half of this year, compared to 423 in the first half of last year.

Robberies went up by 44, to 259.

Crombach called this statistic the most disturbing part of a mostly positive crime report.

Many of the robbery victims were migrant farmworkers carrying cash on payday, he explained.

To attack the problem, the Police Department will continue encouraging farmworkers to put their money in banks with help from the Mexican Consulate, he said.

The number of reported rapes increased by seven to 20, compared to 13 in the first half of last year.

Educational outreach has led to more victims of acquaintance rape reporting the crimes, Crombach said. The increased number of rapes were not rapes committed by strangers, he said.

Homicides dropped by one to five in the first six months of 2007, and aggravated assaults declined by 16, to 173.

Not resting on its laurels

While Oxnard's mid-year crime report tells a mostly positive story, Crombach counseled residents not to put too much stock in short-term statistics.

Six-month figures fluctuate based on variables including socioeconomic conditions and which lawbreakers are in custody, he said.

"There's an ebb and flow in this business. While we're pleased, there isn't any champagne being popped," he said. "Let's not take the day off. We still have a lot of work to do."

Oxnard's police are among the busiest in the county. Six of the 10 homicides reported in the county this year took place in the city.

But things are much better — especially in Southwinds, La Colonia and downtown — than in 1992, Crombach said.

Since 1992, the number of crimes per 1,000 Oxnard residents has decreased in every Part 1 category, according to police figures.

The homicide rate is 45 percent lower in 2007 than in 1992. The rates of assaults and burglaries went down by 72 and 69 percent, respectively, according to the city's figures.