Ventura County Sheriff's Department

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department’s Part I crime statistics for the first six months of 2008 are now available. Some highlights are as follows:

• Total Part I crime rate per 1,000 population for the entire Sheriff’s jurisdiction decreased from 8.62 in the first six months of 2007 to 8.11 during the same period in 2008, a decrease of 6%.

• Total Part I violent crime rate per 1,000 population decreased from .75 to .69, a decrease of 8%. Within this grouping, robbery decreased 15% and rape decreased by 28%. Homicides did show an increase, going from one
homicide in the Sheriff’s jurisdiction in the first half of 2007 to four homicides in the first half of 2008.

• Total Part I property crime rate per 1,000 population decreased from 7.87 to 7.42, a decrease of 6%. Within this grouping, residential burglary and all other burglaries showed the greatest decrease while arson showed an
increase.

The total decrease in Part I property crime for 2008 compared to 2007 is significant in that there was a slight increase of 1% last year when the first half of 2007 property crime was compared to the first half of 2006. At that time, the 1% increase was attributed to an increase in thefts from vehicles. It is important to note that during many of those crimes, the vehicles were left unlocked with valuables inside. Directed enforcement efforts as well as a strong effort from the public are believed to have made substantial inroads into reducing the problem of thefts from vehicles. Also, significant strides have been made in informing the public about the hazards of leaving valuables in unlocked vehicles.

The above data as well as individual breakdowns for the Sheriff’s contract cities and unincorporated areas are available on the Sheriff’s website at http://www.VCSD.org