COUNTY CRIME DOWN DURING 1ST HALF OF '96.Byline: Michael Michael, archangel Michael (mī`kəl) [Heb.,=who is like God?], archangel prominent in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions. In the Bible and early Jewish literature, Michael is one of the angels of God's presence. Coit Daily News Staff Writer Led by a drop in burglaries and thefts, serious crimes decreased 9.5 percent in areas served by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department The Ventura County Sheriff's Department (VCSD) provides law enforcement for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, USA, as well as several cities within the county. The cities that VCSD serves are Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, and Thousand Oaks. during the first six months of 1996, compared with the same period last year. The Sheriff's Department reported a 2.9 percent increase in violent crimes, such as murder and robbery, and a 10.9 percent decrease in property crimes, such as home and vehicle burglaries and arson arson, at common law, the malicious and willful burning of the house of another. Originally, it was an offense against the security of habitation rather than against property rights. . Serious crimes are offenses reported to the 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. . The Sheriff's Department patrols all unincorporated areas In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality. To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, i.e., a city or town with its own government. of the county and provides police services under contract to the cities of 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. , Moorpark, Camarillo Camarillo (kă'mərē`yō), city (1990 pop. 52,303), Ventura co., S Calif.; inc. 1964. It is the center of a fertile farm area where citrus fruits and flowers are grown. , Fillmore and Ojai. The city of Camarillo helped lead the way with a 25.6 percent drop in serious crimes. ``It's good news. If we could even sustain this through the end of the year, I would be really pleased,'' said Cmdr. Ray Abbott of the sheriff's Camarillo station. While violent crimes are not a significant problem in Camarillo, the city was plagued by a surge in property crimes throughout 1995. Abbott said increased probation probation, method by which the punishment of a convicted offender is conditionally suspended. The offender must remain in the community and under the supervision of a probation officer, who is usually a court-appointed official. checks, citizen patrols and a new bike patrol produced arrests that significantly reduced property crimes the first six months of 1996. ``Some of that was due to our own crooks here, but we seem to get hit hard from burglars out of the area,'' Abbott noted. ``I think some of the arrests finally caught up with it.'' Abbott said residents also must do their part to help prevent crime. ``A lot of our burglaries and things really are crimes that could be prevented, and so we made a concerted effort to get out and try and generate more Neighborhood Watch programs.'' Serious crime was down 11 percent in Moorpark during the first half of the year, with the steepest drops in residential burglaries and auto theft, said Capt. Marty Rouse of the Moorpark Police Department. Rouse noted the growing city has established new Neighborhood Watch patrols and the department started a citizen patrol several months ago. ``We are really beginning to see some real citizen involvement,'' Rouse said. ``I think we're just getting more awareness,'' he added. ``The more things we do, the more people are aware we're out there and that people care.'' CAPTION(S): Chart Chart: CRIME COMPARISON |
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