Simi Sees Another Increase in Crime

Crime in the safest large city in America surged last year as a potent combination of trends caught up with Simi Valley, a sun-baked suburb on the western edge of Los Angeles.

The number of crimes reported increased for the fourth straight year in the affluent Ventura County community, according to a new police report.

But last year’s hike far exceeded the minor bumps of the past as tough economic times prompted more thievery, officials said, and a temporary shortage of police hampered the city’s response to it.

“It’s a significant increase,” Police Chief Mark Layhew said. “We attribute it to a combination of factors, most of which have to do with crimes for financial gain as opposed to attacks on a person.”

Simi Valley saw reported crimes climb 16% in 2003 from the previous year. Felony violence jumped 20%, robberies nearly doubled and property crimes rose 15%, with thefts and burglaries increasing across the board.

Police reported 2,061 serious crimes last year, up 285 from 2002, but down from a peak of 3,555 in 1992. Meanwhile, the city’s crime rate has fallen from a peak of 34.5 offenses per 1,000 residents 12 years ago to about half that last year, at 17.5.

The crime rate is represented by a ratio of population to crimes reported by local police agencies to the FBI in eight categories -- homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, auto theft and arson. Each crime is given the same weight, so a homicide counts the same as a bicycle theft.

Among U.S. cities with at least 100,000 residents, Simi Valley and a second Ventura County suburb, Thousand Oaks, had the lowest crime rates in 2002. The FBI has not yet reported large-city crime for 2003. Simi Valley or Thousand Oaks has ranked first for 12 of the previous 14 years.

Last year, Layhew said, Simi Valley crime was affected most by three factors: a growth boom that added about 3,000 new residents; a depressed economy that nearly always causes more crime; and by Proposition 36, a 3-year-old ballot initiative that mandated treatment, not jail, for first-time drug offenders.

“Drug offenders are being sent to treatment facilities,” the police chief said. “But they still have the opportunity to commit more crimes while being treated.”

County prosecutors and other police chiefs have also attributed much of the recent increase in minor property crime to Proposition 36, which allows drug offenders to stay out of jail on probation.

Countywide, authorities reported in November that only about 7% of 4,000 drug offenders treated under Proposition 36 had completed required treatment sessions and were declared drug free. But program supporters said 40% were making progress toward beating their habits.

In Simi Valley, an additional problem last year was that about 12 officers a month -- nearly 10% of the city’s police force -- were off the job because of injuries.

“That meant we had to pull officers from our specialty units such as traffic, detectives and special operations to maintain adequate staffing levels on patrol,” Layhew said.

The department is still down about a dozen officers, he said. “It just goes in cycles, and right now we’re in a heavy cycle,” he said.

Of last year’s trends, the uptick in violence was of most concern, Layhew said.

Robberies soared from 26 to 45, probably because of bad economic times and because the previous year’s total was unusually low, he said. Likewise, he said, last year’s 16 rapes are closer to the norm than the seven from the previous year. No pattern has been found among the rapes -- no serial offender or common characteristics among the victims, he said.

“In fairness, that 20% increase is so high because the total numbers are still very low,” the police chief said. The figure reflects an increase of 27 offenses.

The city had two homicides last year, up from zero the previous year, but about the annual norm. In November, Virginia Smutko, 33, was fatally shot by her husband in their home before he took his own life. A week later, Angel Luevano, 30, was shot to death outside a friend’s house. A suspect is in custody.

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Simi Valley crime statistics

Simi Valley’s crime rate has fallen from a peak of 34.5 offenses per 1,000 residents 12 years ago to 17.5 in 2003, despite a sharp increase in offenses last year.

*--* Felony Total Year Homicide Rape Robbery assault Burglary Theft Auto Arson crimes theft 1992 2 11 75 178 765 2,039 445 40 3,555

1999 0 11 24 81 383 987 161 52 1,699

2000 1 13 45 75 389 1,036 124 22 1,705

2001 6 11 37 93 361 1,040 192 13 1,753

2002 0 7 26 105 355 1,100 163 20 1,776

2003 2 16 45 102 466 1,203 205 22 2,061

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Source: Simi Valley Police Department

Los Angeles Times