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Oxnard police spread word on Net
Webcasts get messages out to residents
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Photos by Karen Quincy Loberg / Star staff Oxnard police spokesman David Keith reports on a 7-Eleven robbery Wednesday for a Webcast. The Webcast program was launched in March and so far 50 "Straight to You" shows have been produced.
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More from Local NewsWhether it's alerting the public to the dangers of Fourth of July fireworks or asking their help in solving a 2005 homicide, Oxnard police are depending less on local newspapers and other outside media to get the word out. They are turning to the Internet.
Police launched a Webcast program in late March and have so far produced more than 50 "Straight to You" Webcasts.
Each Webcast begins with a short video. In it, Oxnard police spokesman David Keith stands in the middle of a road as two police cars whiz by him with their emergency lights on.
"I'm David Keith, and this is Straight to You,'" says Keith, looking into the camera, his arms folded and wearing a pair of sunglasses.
The Webcast then launches into the topic of the day.
One recent program warned parents about the dangers of leaving water in a bucket because a child can fall in and drown. Another cautioned motorists to buckle up or be cited.
"We don't want to be dependent on the local media to get the message out," Keith told a reporter as he headed out with a cameraman on a recent morning to shoot another "Straight to You" episode.
This one was on mail and identity theft.
In it, Keith told residents to avoid using their home mailboxes for outgoing mail because of possible theft.
"This is no longer a good idea," he said, pointing to an outgoing piece of mail attached to a home mailbox.
Keith instead encouraged everyone to use the large blue mail boxes or take their correspondence to the post office.
The video lasts for 2 minutes and 42 seconds. That may not seem like a lot of time, but for Keith it's far more than what he would get from TV news.
"I might get 10 seconds there," he said. Or the story might not get aired or printed in the local paper at all, he said.
Oxnard police had broadcast a crime-prevention show on the local public access TV channel for 22 years, said John Crombach, the department's chief.
But viewership was declining.
Keith came up with the idea of producing a show on the Internet, Crombach said.
Keith said he got the idea for the Webcasts from his son, who had uploaded a video to the Internet of himself shooting a basketball into a hoop.
"I saw how easy it was for him to put this video on the Internet, and I thought, We can do the same thing,'" Keith said.
Keith went to Brooks Institute of Photography in Ventura, where he found students willing to shoot and edit the videos.
The videos are usually posted to the department's Web site the same day they are shot. They also are available as podcasts.
The Oxnard Police Department is among a handful of departments around the nation producing Webcasts.
Keith said he's received calls from police departments interested in starting their own Webcasts, including Ventura police.
"Our goal is to have a Webcast ready by August," said Kevin Jeffries, who works in public affairs and communications for Ventura police.
These Webcasts "can educate the public and help in crime prevention," Jeffries said.
Posted by nancy_4ever on July 12, 2007 at 12:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How about elaborating on ALL of the unsolved homocides in Oxnard? If one pubic hair can solve a cold case murder how about all evidence surrounding many "daylight" unsolved murders within the past five years in Oxnard? Why isn't there any accountability? even with the millions received by Federal Gvt. for so called "gang injunctions?!" Where is the fruit of the injunction? Let's solve some crimes OPD.
Posted by jose6212002 on July 12, 2007 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why is there always people putting down good ideas??? Gees Nancy be positive, we all start somewhere, if this works, it might be that they do that, but come on be positive...
Posted by Prodigy on July 12, 2007 at 10:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What your speaking of takes a lot of manpower and money. As far as I understand Oxnard does not have a lot of either as it stands. If funds are earmarked for gang injunctions directly you can't just slush fund it and push it over to unsolved crimes.
Posted by Prissy_Leghorn on July 12, 2007 at 12:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If anyone witnessed a blue Mustang being attacked by two 20 something men with aluminum baseball bats on Victoria and Fifth Street (van was turning left on Fifth from Victoria - driven by a mother approximately 40 - 50 something years of age) in Oxnard - July 11 at approx. 1:15pm, please contact the Oxnard Police Department. We appreciate any help you can lend. My husband is mending, but is doing okay. Thank you
Posted by AnnaWhaat on July 12, 2007 at 5:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Prissy, Im so sorry for what happened to your husband. That is just terrible ! I will keep you both in my prayers! And hope they catch the creeps !
Posted by imbetnonit on July 13, 2007 at 12:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gee low_amps2, that was insensitive. Prissy's post gave me chills. Hearing about behavior like that just makes me so angry. What the f*** is wrong with people? It's time to get out the straight jackets and get these animals off the streets and away from our law abiding citizens. We waste too much time and energy on these lunatics. Prison is no longer a deterrent, it's a status symbol. Pre-frontal lobotomy, now that's a deterrent!
I have been watching the straight to you webcasts everyday and I think it's a great idea. Over the years, I've often wondered if the OXPD's right hand knew what the left hand was doing. It's a visual reminder that the good guys are out there everyday and they are working together to serve and protect. It's a thankless job and I really appreciate the sacrifices they and their families make everyday. The webcasts are short, but they've made me cry, swell up with pride and reminded me that our problems are not hopeless.
And I think David Keith is really cute.
Posted by imbetnonit on July 13, 2007 at 2:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, it takes one to know one, sorry that just slipped out. And yet, that's what is so great about America, we are all entitled to our own opinion. I hope you find yourself, your out there somewhere.
Posted by imbetnonit on July 13, 2007 at 5:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow, he really is lost........how phunny.
Posted by e on July 14, 2007 at 11:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The part about mail boxes caught my attention because I complained and complained about the grouped, unlocked boxes on Silverstrand. I had to walk 2 houses down to both mail and receive mail. Many neighbors lost checks and credit cards and who knows what else.
Whatever happened to the postman putting mail through a slot in the door?
I guess I'm dreaming.
Posted by imbetnonit on July 14, 2007 at 11:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It caught my attention too e, two weeks before that aired, my elderly neighbor had some medication stolen from her mailbox. I told her she needed to call the post office and police to report it. She was told that there was nothing they could do, they didn't take a report or even ask her name or address. We were both a little confused because we thought that was a serious federal crime.
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