DISTANCE MAY KEEP CITIES SAFER FEW CRIMINALS MAKE DRIVE TO VICTIMIZE L.A. SUBURBS.Byline: PATRICIA PATRICIA Practical Algorithm To Retrieve Information Coded In Alphanumeric PATRICIA Proving and Testability for Reliability Improvement of Complex Integrated Architectures PATRICIA PApilloma TRIal Cervical cancer In young Adults FARRELL AIDEM Staff Writer There's perhaps something psychological about driving through a mountain pass that keeps crime low in smaller cities near Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , such as 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. , 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 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, -- consistently ranked among the nation's safest areas. That was the conclusion drawn last week by Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell, whose Ventura County city ranked 17th-safest among 371 U.S. cities of 75,000 population or more. ``It's that geographic difference, that psychological boundary,'' Sedell said. ``Crooks don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. city jurisdictional borders, but they do know they have to take a drive from Los Angeles or the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. to get to these suburbs.'' Thousand Oaks came in 11th in the study of 2005 crime, and Santa Clarita was 34th in the 13th annual ranking by Morgan Quitno Press, a research and publishing company. Other national rankings are even more favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. to the three cities The Three Cities is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea on the Island of Malta, which are enclosed by the massive line of fortification created by the Knights of St John, the Cottonera Lines. because they compare cities of 100,000 or more, which this year would put Thousand Oaks at No. 3, Simi Valley at No. 6 and Santa Clarita at No. 10. Los Angeles ranked No. 250, while Burbank came in at 71 and Glendale at 77. Brick, N.J. -- with a population well below 100,000 -- was named the nation's safest city, and St. Louis, Mo., celebrating its World Series win, was named most dangerous. Thousand Oaks City Manager Scott Mitnick was highly critical of the Morgan Quitno analysis. Thousand Oaks will spend more than $21.7 million this year on law enforcement, and Mitnick is confident his city is as safe as any in America. ``We take these with a grain of salt, but that's not to say I wish I were in St. Louis,'' Mitnick said. Cities, he said, report crimes differently or, in cities with very small or extremely busy police forces, don't report them at all. ``We respond to every call. (In) some cities, you know you'll wait hours, if not days, for someone to come out and take a report,'' Mitnick said. ``And we don't have to use these lists to sell our quality of life.'' Kansas-based Morgan Quitno uses raw data of violent crimes provided by cities each year to the FBI, company President Scott Morgan Scott Morgan may refer to:
The survey looks at incidents of murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary and auto theft per 100,000 residents. Categories are compared city by city and against the national average, Morgan said. A published report is available for $49.95 plus shipping, and cities and real estate agents are among the top customers. Morgan found it surprising that a trio of cities so close to Los Angeles boasts such comparatively low crime rates -- with more than two or three homicides a year a rarity. But the city representatives say it's easier for David-size cities to control crime than it is for Goliath L.A. Gail Ortiz, spokeswoman for city of Santa Clarita, said the smaller cities are answering to a vocal constituency. ``People come here for the quality of life, for the low crime, and they want to keep it that way,'' Ortiz said. ``The city answers that with proactive programs and by taking action when there is a problem.'' A spate of burglaries, she said, prompted a rejuvenation Rejuvenation Aeson in extreme old age, restored to youth by Medea. [Rom. Myth.: LLEI, I: 322] apples of perpetual youth by tasting the golden apples kept by Idhunn, the gods preserved their youth. [Scand. Myth. of the Neighborhood Watch programs, while a Business Watch was reactivated for the business community to look out for one another. All the cities agreed that heavy police presence cuts crime -- and having a lot of police from cities all over the region living in your town doesn't hurt either. ``Lots of cops live in these cities,'' Sedell said. ``I think the crooks know that by reputation.'' Lt. Mike Dunkle, acting commander of the Santa Clarita sheriff's station, said residents are almost too comfortable in his city. ``You look around, drive around out in the community, people are very casual about safety -- and that can be a bad thing,'' he said. ``They leave their doors unlocked; they leave valuable items in their cars. It's nice to feel that way, but those are the people who are likely going to be crime victims, the ones who take their safety for granted.'' pat.aidem(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5251 |
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