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Violent crime is down in Simi
But property crime up in '07; statistics mirror county trend
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More from Local NewsViolent crime dropped in Simi Valley last year while property crimes increased, mirroring a trend across Ventura County.
The city Wednesday reported there were 1.45 violent crimes for every 1,000 Simi Valley residents in 2007, compared with 1.62 in 2006 — a 10.5 percent decline. Last year's property crime rate was 19.21 per 1,000 residents, compared with 16.97 in 2006 — a 13.2 percent increase.
Combined, Simi Valley's crime rate rose by 11.1 percent, from 18.59 per 1,000 people in 2006 to 20.66 last year.
The crime statistics were compiled by Simi Valley police. They follow national reporting standards set by the FBI.
The number of property crimes in areas patrolled by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department also increased, from 15.11 per 1,000 people in 2006 to 15.74 in 2007. The department provides law enforcement for Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Moorpark, Fillmore, Ojai and unincorporated areas of the county.
Like in Simi, the number of violent crimes in sheriff's areas decreased, from 1.82 per 1,000 people in 2006 to 1.51 last year.
Simi Valley police attributed much of the increase in property crime to automobile thefts and larceny. Many involved the theft of items from unlocked vehicles, police said.
Simi Valley police responded to 46,328 service calls in 2007. Throughout the year, they maintained a 4.5-minute response time to emergency calls and a 16.6-minute response time to routine calls for service, they said.
Simi Valley police said the city's crime rate today is 36 percent lower than 20 years ago.
The city had three homicides in 2006 and two last year, 21 reported rapes in 2006 and 20 in 2007, and 58 robberies in 2006 and 63 in 2007.
Posted by karen.sheets on February 1, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That's funny because every friday The Acorn has a page of crimes in Simi, and there are quite a few violent crimes. There is alot more crimes in Simi Valley than the residents are led to believe.
Posted by rgadams on February 11, 2008 at 4:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
OOOOOOO yeah karen, it's a police conspiracy! Please. Stop sitting around watching "CSI" and start volunteering at the police department. Then you'll see what really happens.
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