BEST OF TIMES; WORST OF CRIMES SIMI, THOUSAND OAKS SAFEST CITIES IN U.S. AGAIN; ALL OFFENSES CLIMB IN L.A.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks once again grabbed the top slots as the nation's safest cities while Los Angeles' rising crime rate bucked the national trend in 2000, FBI crime statistics released Wednesday show.

Simi Valley took the No. 1 ``safe city'' spot for the third consecutive year over neighboring Thousand Oaks, as the FBI released preliminary figures for the number of crimes in cities with populations of more than 100,000. Santa Clarita ranked sixth.

``There are a number of factors I think that go into the equation of being the safest city,'' Simi Valley Police Chief Randy Adams said. ``One is the tremendous partnership with the community.''

Adams also credited the City Council and the ``outstanding and dedicated'' 119 sworn officers and staffers who work in the Simi Valley Police Department.

``We have an extremely supportive City Council that is not bashful to say public safety is No. 1 and the Police Department is No. 1,'' Adams said. ``Anytime additional equipment and staff are needed, they are willing to deliver them to us.''

Preliminary figures for 222 major cities nationwide showed statistics for murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, arson and motor-vehicle theft leveled off in 2000 after a steep, years-long decline.

Nationally, murders declined 1.1 percent; robbery, 0.7 percent; and burglary, 2.1 percent. Forcible rape, aggravated assaults and larceny-theft increased less than 1 percent, and auto theft, 2.7 percent.

Los Angeles, however, saw a 7.8 percent jump in total crimes, to 180,532, with increases in each of the crime categories. Murders soared 28 percent, from 425 to 544, while motor-vehicle thefts increased 20 percent. Rapes and burglaries increased about 13 percent.

Los Angeles' figures were second only to New York City, which reported a 3.7 percent drop in total crimes, from 299,477 to 288,368.

In an effort to reverse the trend, the Los Angeles Police Department launched a program last September that identifies hot spots and deploys officers to those areas.

``We believe we are making a lot of headway,'' said Lt. Horace Frank, a police spokesman. ``Our ultimate goal is to get those numbers into minus territory.''

The FBI, which has been collecting numbers for the Uniform Crime Reporting Program since 1930, does not comment on the results. Final numbers are expected to be released this fall.

The FBI also does not officially rank cities as ``safe,'' leaving it to officials to claim bragging rights based on comparisons with other municipalities.

In Santa Clarita, which ranks sixth in the number of crimes reported, for instance, officials boast they are actually No. 3, based on the number of crimes per 1,000 residents.

Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks have held the top two spots for the past several years, although the cities have traded places a time or two.

``I think it's an overall situation of high community involvement, both with the volunteers, parents and their children and Neighborhood Watch programs,'' Thousand Oaks Mayor Dan Del Campo said.

He also pointed to the Police Department, which is staffed by Ventura County sheriff's deputies under contract with the city.

``They provide us some of the best services,'' Del Campo said. ``And every year for the past four to five years the council has added new officers to the city so we've increased our presence.''

CAPTION(S):

chart

Chart: FBI CRIME STATISTICS

SOURCE: Federal Bureau of Investigation