Crime. How in the heck did the property crime rate increase by double digits? Read the quote below. It’s directly from the Ventura City Website.
“Reported Part 1 Property Crime in 2012 for the City of Ventura increased by 574 additional crimes, or 17%, when compared to 2011. Most notable was a 45% increase in Auto Thefts from 195 incidents reported in 2011 compared to 282 in 2012. Residential Burglaries rose 21% with nearly 500 incidents occurring in 2012. Non-Residential Burglaries increased by 14% totaling 284 compared to 249 in 2011. There were 2,825 Larceny/Thefts reported, including thefts from locked and unlocked vehicles. This represents an increase of 14% more than in 2011. Lastly, a total of 14 Arsons were reported in 2012, compared to the 5 reported Arsons in 2011.”
Violent crimes decreased by 5%, which is good, but is the huge increase of other types of crimes the price we pay? That does not make sense. Several houses in my neighborhood have been burglarized. One friend came home in the afternoon to find a man inside her house. He ran off and got away. I have had two bicycles stolen from my porch. The city posted a flashing sign on a trailer warning people to report suspicious activity. that seems like a weak solution. I want my role in the city council to have a direct effect upon lowering those numbers. I have some ideas that may help. I know that the City of Oakland was given a federal grant of 10 million dollars that they used to fund the placement of security cameras in key locations around the town. This gives police a way to review events captured by an unbiased witness. The city of Ventura recently used grant money to link up the security camera system at a local high school so that they can review footage when needed for the same reason. I would explore the request for more grant money to fund similar installations. I don’t want this to replace any officers. I feel that we need more officers patrolling as well. But I do feel this is an excellent way to supplement the tools they have available to keep us all safe. As a former Federal Law enforcement agent I want to send a message to criminals that Ventura is no place to for any illegal activities.