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The Simi Valley Police Department is pleased to report a decrease in reported crime for the fourth consecutive year. Specifically, the number of crimes reported in the City of Simi Valley in 2022 was 6.12% lower than in 2021. The Department of Justice’s Uniformed Crime Reporting (“UCR”) Program collects crime statistics from 17,000 law enforcement agencies. The Simi Valley Police Department has been tracking its UCR statistics for nearly 50 years. The statistics are classified into eight “Part One” crimes, broken into two categories - violent crime and property crime. Here are the statistics from 2022, with a comparison to 2021:

 

In the two crime categories, violent crimes fell by 18.95% in 2022, while property crime is down by 4.48%.

Simi Valley’s 18.95% violent crime decrease was due to the reduction of rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults, having approximately 30 fewer total incidents than the previous year. Through crime analysis and careful review of data, the Department’s investigative and field units worked together to aggressively address robbery crime trends, including the focus on Organized Retail Thefts, which become robberies when business employees or vigilant citizens confront the perpetrators. Task Force Officers assigned to these efforts, coupled with the work of SVPD’s Detective Bureau, have proven successful in reducing violent crime year after year.

Police Chief Steve Shorts attributes an overall 4.48% reduction in property crimes to the continued strategic approach of mission-oriented policing, which combines social media, community outreach, and education for regular crime prevention alerts. Additionally, the focused direction of patrol resources towards known problem areas has also contributed to the reduction in property crime. During 2021, the Department investigated numerous thefts and burglaries from unlocked vehicles and homes, which prompted the regular crime prevention alerts in 2022. The Department has benefited significantly from its strong community partnerships and citizens’ willingness to report and actively participate in crime prevention.

Motor vehicle theft has been a historical problem, and detectives addressed this in several ways. Specifically, the Property Crimes Detectives assigned to the regional Ventura County Auto Theft Task Force use Intelligence-Led Policing strategies. In addition, by focusing on prolific offenders, enhanced enforcement, probation searches, crime mapping, and partnerships with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, the Simi Valley Police Department, with an officer assigned to work with Ventura County Probation, was able to reduce all forms of theft, including motor vehicle theft.

Chief Shorts stated, “The members of the Simi Valley Police Department continue to work with our community partners to provide a safe city to live and work within. We focus on providing superior police services that address our residents' and businesses’ needs and concerns while responding swiftly to crime trends and quality of life issues.”