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 Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. and Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. 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 Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, 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 The Simi Valley Police Department (SVPD) is the police department of the city of Simi Valley, California. The department currently has over 120 sworn officers, and more than 65 support personnel[1]. The department has a patrol area that covers over 39 square miles. . ``We have an extremely supportive City Council that is not bashful bash·ful adj. 1. Shy, self-conscious, and awkward in the presence of others. See Synonyms at shy1. 2. Characterized by, showing, or resulting from shyness, self-consciousness, or awkwardness. 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 A person is guilty of aggravated assault if he or she attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another or causes such injury purposely, knowingly, or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life; or attempts to cause or purposely or , 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 New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , 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 "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . launched a program last September that identifies hot spots hot spotsacute moist dermatitis. 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), division of the U.S. Dept. of Justice charged with investigating all violations of federal laws except those assigned to some other federal agency. |
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