Violent Crime Falls Below 1998 Levels

Crime rates in Oxnard dipped 11% overall for the first six months of 1999, with the biggest drops in rape, homicide and vehicle theft, according to an Oxnard Police Department report.

Homicides slid 60% so far this year, from five for the first half of 1998 to two so far this year.

Rapes were down to 18, compared with 28 for last year, a 36% drop, and car thefts fell 37%, from 446 to 282.

“This is great news for us,� said Chief Art Lopez.

“For so long there’s been that image of Oxnard as the crime capital of Ventura County. But to see crime drop so dramatically, we can boast we are a very safe town.�

Oxnard authorities credit an aggressive campaign against gang activity in the county for much of the drop.

“We recognize gangs are potentially our biggest problem,� Lopez said.

“We suspect our gang unit has had a big impact on our crime rate.�

Of particular concern, Lopez said, has been gang-related assaults. But the latest crime statistics show a 14% drop in assault crimes, from 267 in the first half of 1998 to 229 this year.

“We are going to continue to target those who we see as responsible for a big majority of aggravated assaults and those kinds of crimes,� Lopez said.

The burglary rate for the city is down 7% for the year, marking a 75% decline since 1984, authorities said.

Oxnard did see a rise in robberies, which jumped 2%.

Authorities said they are working on strategies to turn around this trend before the end of the year.