COUNTY AREA RANKED HIGH FOR SECURITY SURVEY GRADES REGION 15TH IN NATION FOR SAFETY, JOBS.

Byline: ERIC LEACH Staff Writer

A new survey ranks the Ventura County area among the most secure places to live in the United States, based on job security, low crime rates, the threat of terrorism and response to natural disasters, among other things.

Seven California communities were listed among the most secure places in the third annual Farmers Insurance Group of Companies study that was done with the help of database experts at Sperling's Best Places, which evaluates communities, publishes books and operates the Web site www.bestplaces.net.

Farmers Insurance started the study in 2003 in part because of growing concerns in the nation following the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

``We started talking about how prepared communities are, and we expanded beyond terrorism to hazardous materials and how police are responding,'' said Jerry Davies, spokesman for Farmers in Los Angeles, which announced the survey results last week.

``It's rather significant when you look at all communities and how they are reacting. You are looking at a changing world in terms of how we are protecting ourselves. It's a more proactive world. Based on 9-11, people are more aware of the threats than ever in my lifetime.''

Pointing to security at today's airports, he said people are more security conscious when choosing where to travel and where to raise their families.

``It really pleases us to see so many cities that have ranked so high,'' he said. ``It should make a lot of people very proud that their officials take pride in what they do and that everyone is working together.''

Ventura County has a diverse employment base, from the entertainment industry jobs in neighboring Los Angeles to the county's high-tech biotechnology and health services businesses, Naval Base Ventura County, agriculture, real estate and tourism.

The rankings were based on surveys of 379 metropolitan areas nationwide. The Boise City-Nampa, Idaho, area was at the top of list for large metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more. The Ventura County area ranked 15th.

Among the California communities listed, the Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville area ranked fifth, the San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos area finished seventh and the Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine area ended up 10th.

Dennis Gillette, Thousand Oaks mayor and former police chief there, noted that Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks routinely rank among the safest cities in the nation with 100,000 or more people based on FBI crime statistics.

And he said it makes sense to recognize the entire Ventura County region from Thousand Oaks to Ventura as a secure place to live.

``Ventura County, looking at it as an urban region, historically ranks very well in terms of community safety and security,'' he said. ``That is because the residents in this county demand the best law enforcement services and have been willing to support them.

``The people of Ventura County also demand an exceptionally high quality of life, and they support the partnerships between the community and its institutions to ensure this quality is maintained.''

The survey analyzed job security and economic growth, police reports and response times and included interviews with residents and public officials about crime.

It also looked at natural disasters, environmental hazards, how hazardous materials are transported through communities and how the emergency services officials work together.

``Look at the phenomenal job the firefighters did up there in Moorpark. The defenses they put up were a perfect example,'' Davies said, referring to the fire that broke out during extreme Santa Ana wind conditions last weekend. ``They surrounded the homes with 1,000 firefighters and were ready.''

The city of Moorpark also recently received two awards for emergency preparedness programs from the Business and Industry Council for Emergency Planning and Preparedness.

One award was for the city's new $11 million Police Services Center and Emergency Operations Center, which opened last year housing the Moorpark Police Department and the east Ventura County California Highway Patrol.

The other award was for the city's Special Needs Registry listing residents who would need special assistance if they had to evacuate their homes.

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