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Press release – 3/25/2008

Archives for March 2008

OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT

PRESS RELEASE

 

At 5:30 this morning seven Oxnard traffic officers set out to find people who had left their vehicles running and unattended.  This continues to be an on-going problem in the city of Oxnard.  In fact, approximately 1/3 of all cars reported stolen in Oxnard are stolen when left running and unattended. 

Between 5:30 and 8:00 am these seven officers wrote 28 citations – each costing the perpetrator a fine of $65.  

We have done these types of sweeps in the past and will continue to do them in the future.  The last two such operations yielded more than 60 citations each so we are hopeful that Oxnard residents are getting the message that this type of behavior is unacceptable. 

David Keith, Spokesperson

OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT

PRESS RELEASE

 

At 5:30 this morning seven Oxnard traffic officers set out to find people who had left their vehicles running and unattended.  This continues to be an on-going problem in the city of Oxnard.  In fact, approximately 1/3 of all cars reported stolen in Oxnard are stolen when left running and unattended. 

Between 5:30 and 8:00 am these seven officers wrote 28 citations – each costing the perpetrator a fine of $65.  

We have done these types of sweeps in the past and will continue to do them in the future.  The last two such operations yielded more than 60 citations each so we are hopeful that Oxnard residents are getting the message that this type of behavior is unacceptable. 

David Keith, Spokesperson

When compared to 2006 figures, the number of reportable crimes in Oxnard declined 1.6% in 2007. This decline is part of a consistent trend in Oxnard that has lasted since the early 1990’s.

The reported crime figures reflect Part One Crimes, which are offense types that law enforcement agencies report to the United States Department of Justice. These offenses include the violent crimes of homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Property crimes that fall into Part One offenses include burglary, automobile theft, larceny (theft) and arson.

During the 2007 calendar year, there were 5,189 reported Part I crimes, compared to 5,273 in 2006. The chart below summarizes Oxnard’s 2006 and 2007 statistics, showing the annual differences:

Part I Crimes CY 2006 CY 2007 Numerical Difference Percent Change
Violent Crimes
Homicide 14 9 -5 -35.7%
Rape 34 33 -1 -2.9%
Robbery 418 453 35 8.4%
Aggravated Assault 377 350 -27 -7.2%
Total 843 845 2 0.2%
Property Crimes
Burglary 946 867 -79 -8.4%
Auto Theft 614 540 -74 -12.1%
Larceny 2816 2870 54 1.9%
Arson 54 67 13 24.1%
Total 4430 4344 -86 -1.9%
Grand Total 5273 5189 -84 -1.6%

The largest reduction within the violent crime category was in homicides, which decreased by 35.7%. There were nine homicides during 2007, five fewer than the prior year. Arrests were made on six of the nine cases.

Property crimes decreased 1.9% in 2007, with 4,344 crimes reported. This compares to 4,430 crimes in 2006.

There was a significant decrease (12%) in auto thefts this year, with 74 fewer crimes reported in 2007 than in 2006. This is the third consecutive year in which there were significant reductions in this crime category. The City of Oxnard had a 19.6% auto theft reduction from 2005 to 2006 and a 26.6% reduction from 2004 to 2005. These reductions are a product of continued joint effort by Oxnard Police Department and California Highway Patrol to reduce vehicle thefts. Another factor contributing to the reduction is increased public awareness as well as increased effort of people to lock their vehicles and to remove personal items.

There were 79 fewer burglaries reported in 2007, an 8.3% reduction from the prior year. A review of this crime category revealed that the reduction was evenly disbursed among residential and commercial burglaries. The reduction to burglaries is attributed to community policing efforts by Oxnard Police Department and better community awareness to keep their businesses and residences secured.

The Oxnard Police Department would like to thank the public for its support and the role it plays in helping address crime in our city.

Two new laws dealing with the use of wireless telephones while driving go into effect July 1, 2008. Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions concerning these new laws.

Q: When do the new wireless telephone laws take effect?
A: The new laws take effect July 1, 2008
 
Q: What is the difference between the two laws?
A: The first prohibits all drivers from using a handheld wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle. (Vehicle Code (VC)

The Oxnard Police Department Graffiti Investigations Unit has been hard at work. Senior Officer Sandra Kujawa and Officer Mike Thomas made several recent arrests of major graffiti vandals, helping reduce the frequency of graffiti vandalism in Oxnard. For example, in February 2008 a graffiti vandal was arrested and charged with 79 counts of graffiti vandalism. Another arrest by the Graffiti Investigations Unit included an adult who was arrested for 90 misdemeanor and 90 felony counts of vandalism. Yet another adult vandal arrested for 95 counts of graffiti vandalism. Since January of this year some eighty civil citations, with fines of up to $1,000.00 were issued to graffiti offenders, who will be held accountable for the damage that they do to the community. With these significant arrests, civil citations and with the help of the public, the Graffiti Investigations Unit is working to eradicate graffiti vandalism in Oxnard.

The City of Oxnard, the Oxnard Police Department, and the Community have made it a priority to eradicate graffiti. Graffiti can be reported on the Oxnard Graffiti Hotline at 385-8010, or at the Oxnard Police Department at 385-7743.

The Oxnard Police Department would like to thank the community for their continued assistance in addressing this problem.

The Oxnard Police Department will be premiering its new TV show Straight to You on Monday, March 31 at 8:30 pm on Time Warner Cable Channel 36.

The show will air once per day through most of Ventura County- the air times are Monday through Wednesday at 8:30 pm and Thursday through Sunday at 4:00 pm.

The program runs 30 minutes and features various segments highlighting the Oxnard Police Department, crime prevention tips, and other important police related news.

The program is sponsored by Wal-Mart and features David Keith, OPD Spokesperson, as its host.

Previously, David hosted over 1,200 episodes of the StreetBeat TV show for OPD which ran from 1985-2006.

Financial assets forfeited by convicted criminals are converted into funds that provide law enforcement with new tools that make investigators’ work more efficient and effective. Because of the availability of asset forfeiture funds, the Oxnard Police Department operates two new Video Forensics Labs for importing and enhancing video and still images from a variety of sources. Once the digital evidence is imported and enhanced by this powerful tool, it is used in investigations that create a safer environment for the citizens of Oxnard.

The Video Forensics Labs are built around two powerful Macintosh computers running multiple operating systems simultaneously, including Apple’s OS X as well as Windows 98, XP and Vista. This design allows officers to quickly import digital video from a wide range of personal and business surveillance cameras without the need for a room full of computers. Analog-to-digital media converters allow older VHS, Betamax, Hi-8 and other formats to be viewed and perfected on the Macs and printed on archival-quality paper or exported back to tape, CD, DVD or other storage media.

The systems are easily upgraded and expanded to include other operating systems, video software and additional methods of importing evidence and exporting material that helps to solve the case. The Oxnard Police Department has made progress working with businesses and residents for years, assisting them with their video evidence. With these new labs, the tools for keeping Oxnard safe continue to improve.