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Camarillo Police Department Crime Statistics - 2020

SERVE WITH INTEGRITY PROTECT WITH HONOR

The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) statistics provide a reliable set of crime data for law enforcement, local government, the public, media, and educators for research and planning purposes. The FBI is tasked with collecting and publishing the UCR which places criminal offenses into two categories; violent and property crime offenses.

Violent offenses– Homicide, Rape, Robbery, and Aggravated Assault.

Property offenses– Burglary, theft, Motor Vehicle theft, and Arson.

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Crime rates are affected by many factors including social trends, economic conditions, and legislative changes. The COVID pandemic had significant impacts on law enforcement in 2020.

Between 1991 and 2020, the total crime rate has fluctuated between a high of 32.44 crimes per thousand residents in 1991, to a low of 12.47 this year.

In 2020, the overall UCR Part I crime rate was flat, coming on the heels of a 5% decrease in 2019 and a 27% decrease in 2018. In 2020, there were 12.47 crimes per thousand residents compared to 12.52 crimes per thousand residents in 2019. The 2020 numbers continue to represent the lowest rate Camarillo has experienced since the implementation of the Uniform Crime Reporting method.

2020 – 876 Part 1 Crimes were reported (a decrease of 1 from 2019)

12.47 Crimes for every 1000 Camarillo residents• Violent Crime 0.75 (.83 in 2019, -9%)• Property Crime 11.71 (11.70 in 2019)

In 2020, Camarillo generated 17,874 calls for service compared with 17,935 in 2019 (essentially flat)

3,358 arrests were made this year as compared to 3,075 in 2019 (an increase of 9%)

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Homicide Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault

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2019 vs. 2020

2019 2020

Robbery: Five-year average is 25 robberies. Identified a fairly common trend in that 6 robberies started off as shoplifts and 3 robberies involved a drug deal that went bad.

Rape: Five-year average is 16 rapes. Suspects were known to victims in all but 1 case and 4 cases involved social media being used to connect with victim.

Aggravated Assault: Five-year average is forty assaults. No trends identified.

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CommercialBurglary

Grand Theft Petty Theft Vehicle Theft Arson

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2019 vs. 2020

2019 2020

Crimes were consistent across all categories.

There were 15 reports of crew-type wallet thefts, 11 package thefts, 15 bicycle thefts and 10 mail thefts.

Organized Retail Theft crews continue to be a problem in Camarillo. There were 77 ORT shoplifts in 2020.

One subcategory where we saw increases in 2019 was in shoplifts. This area saw an increase of nearly 100 over 2018. We focused a small Directed Enforcement Unit in the area of Ventura Boulevard to build relationships with Loss Prevention Units. We had 50 fewer shoplifts in 2020, partially because of the DEU and partially because of the pandemic. Arrests made for shoplift included arrestees from Camarillo (2), Lancaster (2), Canyon Country (4), Bakersfield (5), Los Angeles (5), Chile (8), Ventura (10), Northridge (12) and Oxnard (22). We had 15 subjects who were arrested between 3 and 7 separate times for shoplifting.

We saw an increase in thefts from unlocked vehicles. We attribute much of this to the zero bail ruling during the pandemic and the reduction in jail populations to prevent outbreaks.

The highest percentage increase came in the category of stolen vehicles. This is seen throughout every jurisdiction in the County. We are shifting focus for our SED and DEU to address this issue.

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The Camarillo Detective Bureau consists of one sergeant, four senior deputies and one deputy. Our detectives are responsible for investigating all crimes, missing persons, runaways and other incidents that occur within the City of Camarillo. Many of the cases they receive for investigation can be directly filed with the District Attorney’s Office, requiring little or no follow-up investigation.

In 2020, our detectives received 2,067cases. Of those investigated, 1,137 were felony crimes and 777 were misdemeanor crimes.

950 cases were closed.

828 cases were closed by arrest.

111 search warrants were authored and served.

In the spring of 2020, we began investigating a string of commercial burglaries involving suspects who smashed the front glass doors of businesses, stealing cash, lottery tickets and other items. In one case, Camarillo detectives located video surveillance. The surveillance showed a suspect using a slingshot to break the glass door of one business prior to making entry. Once the glass door was broken, the suspect entered the market and took cartons of cigarettes and California Lotto Scratcher tickets. The suspect fled and got into an awaiting SUV that appeared to be the same SUV previously captured on video surveillance during a prior similar burglary. Detectives were able to identify a transient suspect originally from Oregon and link him to seven burglaries in the City of Camarillo. The suspect ultimately pled guilty to his crimes and was sentenced to 6 years in state prison.

In May of 2020, two suspects pushing shopping carts entered Vons in Mission Oaks. Both suspects went directly to the champagne/wine aisle and placed numerous bottles into a black bag. The suspects headed for the store exit when they were confronted by store employees. When an employee tried to take the bag of alcohol, the suspect pushed the employee away, grabbed a bottle of wine, held it in a menacing position and threatened to strike the employee over the head. As the suspect walked out of the door with the stolen property, he pushed one of the employees. When the employee followed suspect outside, the suspect turned toward the employee with his hand in his pocket and threatened to shoot employee. Detectives investigated the crime and were able to identify the suspect as a Los Angeles County resident and they linked him to similar crimes throughout Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. This suspect is still currently in custody awaiting trial.

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The Camarillo Special Enforcement Detail (SED) is a multifaceted team comprised of a sergeant, one senior deputy, three deputies and an administrative assistant. SED is a plain clothes detail and assigned deputies investigate a wide range of criminal activity within the City of Camarillo, including violent crimes, criminal street gang activity, street level narcotic offenses, property crimes and graffiti crimes.

In 2020, SED conducted 190 probation / parole searches resulting in 134 arrests, authored 136 search warrants and made a total of 249 arrests.

Seized 90 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Conducted or assisted in over 100 surveillances.

Routinely assisted other Sheriff investigative units and outside agencies.

CATEGORY NUMBER OF ARRESTS

Under the Influence / Drug Related 136

Warrants 10

Property Crimes 13

Weapons 7

Assault With a Deadly Weapon 4

Violation of Parole / Probation 2

TOTAL NUMBER OF SED ARRESTS (INCLUDING THOSE NOT LISTED ABOVE) 249

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Firearms Arrest:

SED detectives obtained information that a resident of Camarillo was illegally manufacturing and in possession of prohibited firearms, which is a Penal Code violation. SED conducted an investigation that concluded with the execution of a search warrant at the subject’s home. During the warrant service, detectives located numerous illegally possessed assault rifles and handguns. The subject was arrested and booked for numerous drug/firearms charges.

School Resource Officers• All Pleasant Valley Unified and

Oxnard Union District Schools• Investigate school related crimes• Youth counseling / mentoring• Training of school staff• Threat assessments • All High School SROs were moved

to patrol upon COVID cancellation of schools in March.

• PVSD SRO continued to outreach with children and families affected by COVID.

• Modified student mediations• House checks

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Project H.O.P.E. (Helping Our Community Progress Efficiently) began in 2013, staffed by a Homeless Intervention Deputy, is designed to serve and support our homeless population by connecting them with vital resources in an effort to transition them out of homelessness.

These services include “One Stop” a community multi-service event hosted by the Ventura County Health Care Agency – which occurs the 4th Thursday each month at the Church of Nazarene in Camarillo where assistance can be provided for medications, behavioral health issues, food stamp applications, medical needs, veterans support, legal assistance and more. A newer service added this year is the “Backpack Medicine” program, where health services are brought to the homeless where they sleep.

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There was no Point in Time homeless count conducted for 2020. The last count showed 30 homeless subjects in Camarillo.

In March, the Ventura County Behavioral Health agency pulled their clinician from the field due to COVID concerns. This suspension of the field program has continued into 2021.

Our Project HOPE deputy continues to work to connect homeless residents with services throughout the county. During the pandemic, a significant effort was put into finding housing for homeless through various county housing programs.

Refusal of services and assistance remains a significant hurdle to overcoming homelessness.

The Camarillo Traffic Bureau consists of one sergeant, one senior deputy, 2 motorcycle deputies, four traffic enforcement deputies and four 20-hour cadets.

The Camarillo Traffic Bureau documents and investigates all traffic collisions that occur within the City of Camarillo.

Responds to all traffic complaints and parking complaints.

Manages the Sheriff’s Office’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) grant, which results in several DUI checkpoints, bicycle and pedestrian safety operations throughout the City.

Conducts driver safety classes, including the Start Smart class and the Senior Driving Safety class.

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2019 2020%

Changed

Fatal Collisions 4 1 ‐75%

Injury Collisions 237 175 ‐26.16%

Non‐Injury Collisions 347 260 ‐25.07%

DUI Collisions 51 43 ‐15.69%

DUI Arrests 217 194 ‐10.60%

Citations 5302 5960 12.41%

Parking Citations 1483 1975 33.18%

Stored Vehicles 634 551 ‐13.09%

Residential Burglaries – The number of residential burglaries was the lowest we’ve seen in 20 years. We attribute some of this to the fact that more people were home during the day during the COVID pandemic. Although we saw a decrease in residential burglaries, there were a few trends that we identified. Based on the modus operandi (MO), we believe 15 of the residential burglaries were committed by burglary crews. These crews generally involve either Los Angeles area gang members or international crews. A trend identified in 2019 that continued into 2020 was that many burglarized homes backed up to open spaces. Items targeted during the residential burglaries are usually jewelry and cash.

Commercial Burglaries – Most commercial burglaries occurred in the overnight hours between 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM. The burglaries involve forced entry by breaking glass or prying open doors or windows. The burglaries occurred at restaurants (11, 2 suspects were store employees), retail stores (6), liquor stores and gas stations (7) and pharmacies (2). Other law enforcement agencies within Ventura County and southern California experienced similar commercial burglaries and in several instances, arrests of the suspects revealed connections between multiple jurisdictional crimes.

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Monthly crime control meetings – discussion by management of all Sheriff jurisdictions regarding crime trends. Specific or emerging crime trends are identified in an effort to more effectively allocate resources. Innovative ideas and solutions are shared and effective methods are broadly implemented.

We’ve increased our efforts to pair Intelligence Led Policing model with the Intelligence Driven Prosecution model. This combines our attempts to identify and target prolific offenders in our community, those 10% of criminals we believe to be involved in 90% of the crime, with the District Attorney’s efforts at vertical prosecution of those offenders.

Our overarching goal of is to effectively utilize our resources in targeting recidivist criminals who would continue to prey on Camarillo citizens.

We created the Directed Enforcement Unit. This unit consists of two deputies whose initial focus was reducing crime at retail stores along the Ventura Boulevard corridor. As trends shift, so to will their focus.

Camarillo Outlets: Utilize volunteer resources, high visibility / undercover / pro-active police patrols, electronic surveillance and increase use of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR). Additionally, the Community Resource Unit will continue to advise shoppers on the best way to avoid becoming a victim of crime.

Residential Burglaries: Utilize the Community Resource Unit for public awareness and town hall meetings, conduct extra patrols, work with Crime Analysis to identify crime trends / targeted areas, utilize cameras, and continue working with neighborhood watch groups to improve neighborhood safety.

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Schools: Mitigate potential school violence by increasing the use of a threat assessment tool, immediate follow-up on any issues involving a threat, and continue using a standardized campus safety plan for all schools within the district. We will continue to conduct active shooter drills and education at all schools when students return to campus

Traffic: Continue to use Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) grant to focus on collision reduction, distracted driving, and bicycle/pedestrian safety. In 2020, the Sheriff’s Office will moved to electronic citations and to a new traffic collision reporting and analytics system, allowing us to more quickly identify problem locations and respond appropriately.

The City of Camarillo has contracted for police services with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office since its incorporation in 1964. For over 50 years, the Camarillo Police Department has strived to provide the highest degree of ethical and professional service to the members of the public where our core mission is to safeguard lives and protect property.

This is accomplished by maintaining the public’s trust through continued community outreach, fair and impartial treatment of those we encounter, and creating a zero tolerance for individuals intent on committing crime within the community.

It is further our goal to ensure that quality of life issues continue to be a priority so that Camarillo remains one of the most desirable places to live, work and raise a family.

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