CRIME UP 16 PERCENT INCREASE ATTRIBUTED TO THEFTS FROM CONSTRUCTION SITES AS BUILDING BOOMS.

Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - The crime rate increased nearly 16 percent in 2004 over the year before, with most of the uptick blamed on property theft in the booming construction industry, according to local and state law enforcement officials.

Violent crimes grew by 8.5 percent, with homicides rising to three from two in 2003. Aggravated assault was also up, but rapes and robberies were down.

``The majority of the increases are property crimes,'' said Sgt. Stephanie Shannon of the Simi Valley Police Department. ``We've been experiencing an increase in construction-type burglaries. With all the construction that's going on, theft of equipment from construction sites is a problem.''

On Friday, police asked the public to report suspicious activity in or around construction sites or landscaping storage areas by calling [phone].

The California Attorney General's Office last week reported figures for 2004 showing that violent crimes in the state's cities of 100,000 people or more dropped by 4.8 percent. But statewide there was a 1.4 percent increase in homicides.

The attorney general's report used preliminary figures for 2004, which might be changed, and did not list individual cities.

But statistics are available directly from the local law enforcement agencies in southeastern Ventura County, including police agencies in Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark.

In Simi Valley, rapes fell to 15 from 16 and robberies dropped to 33 from 45. But aggravated assaults grew to 128 from 102.

Property crimes increased by 16.5 percent, with 512 burglaries, up from 466; 1,477 thefts, up from 1,211; and 200 auto thefts, down from 205. In 2004, there were 30 cases of arson, compared to 22 in 2003.

Mayor Paul Miller, who is a former city police chief, said Simi Valley's crime rate remains relatively low, with a population of around 120,000.

``Those are low numbers in terms of incidents,'' he said. ``Crime goes up and down year by year, and what we have to achieve is an overall low crime rate. We've consistently over the last 20 years maintained a relatively low crime rate.

``Simi Valley is a relatively safe place. But people have to be careful to avoid being victims of crime - don't leave keys in the car, don't leave their doors open, don't go to the ATM at 2 o'clock in the morning,'' Miller said.

The neighboring cities of Moorpark and Thousand Oaks have police departments supplied through contracts with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

In Moorpark, with a population of less than 100,000, serious crimes increased 13 percent in 2004 compared with 2003, the Sheriff's Department reported. There was only one homicide and no increase in violent crimes, but there was a 15 percent increase in property crimes in Moorpark.

In Thousand Oaks, which was the safest city in the nation with a population over 100,000 in 2003, violent crimes dropped 18 percent in 2004, with no homicides reported. Property crimes increased 2 percent.

Overall, there were three fewer crimes reported in Thousand Oaks in 2004 than in 2003.

Based on a population of 126,100 at the time, the crime rate in Thousand Oaks was 15.96 per 1,000 residents in 2004, and in Moorpark, with a population of 34,900, it was 11.83 per 1,000 people, the Sheriff's Department said.

All three cities have rapidly growing populations.

Eric Leach, [phone]

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com