Simi Valley Crime Rate Drops 10% in 1 Year : Statistics: City reports 83% jump in graffiti, but notes that individual incidents are now recorded.

Serious crime fell by more than 10% in Simi Valley in 1993, a decline that city officials hope will reinforce the city’s image as a safe place to live despite the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old boy earlier this week.

A report released by the Simi Valley Police Department on Thursday showed that there were no reported homicides in 1993, down from two in 1992.

The number of robberies and felony assaults also declined, although the number of reported rapes increased from 11 to 18.

The most significant increase came in graffiti reports, which surged 83.9% from 2,196 in 1992 to 4,038 in 1993.

But Police Chief Lindsey P. Miller said the increase was a direct result of the department’s decision in mid-1992 to start filing individual crime reports for graffiti incidents.

“We’ve been keeping a much more accurate record of the amount of graffiti since we went to the new method,” Miller said. “There could have been just as much graffiti before, but we did not track it as closely.”

In January, the City Council toughened its 4-year-old anti-graffiti laws, banning the sale of spray paint, etching tools and wide-tip markers to minors and making parents liable for up to $10,000 in damages and fines from their children’s vandalism.

The council is also offering a $1,000 reward to people who offer information that helps arrest and convict vandals.

To further combat graffiti and improve relations between police and residents, the council also agreed to launch a five-officer bike patrol.

The program, scheduled to begin later this month, will focus on residential areas and shopping centers, the Arroyo Simi flood control channel, and on existing bicycle and equestrian paths, targeting tough-to-reach crime areas.

The 1993 crime rate was 30.2 incidents per 1,000 residents, down from a rate of 36.9 in 1992 and 36.3 in 1991.

Simi Valley has consistently ranked in annual FBI crime statistics as one of the safest cities in the nation with 100,000 or more residents.

Mayor Greg Stratton attributed the low crime rate to an aggressive Police Department and cooperative citizenry, and stressed that the fatal stabbing Tuesday at Valley View Junior High School of ninth-grader Chad Patrick Hubbard was an isolated act.

“An incident like this is always unfortunate,” Stratton said. “But you have to look at the whole system over time, and we are still one of the safest places to live, although unfortunately it doesn’t mean that there’s no crime.”

Stratton said the drop in auto theft, from 439 in 1992 to 369 in 1993, was the result of a concerted effort by the Police Department to discourage thieves from the San Fernando Valley from heading into Simi Valley.

“We’ve had criminals creeping over the hill,” Stratton said. “But 1993 shows that our tough stand has managed to convince people that this is not the right place to go foraging for crime.”

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Eileen Gordon, founder of Citizens for a Safe and Scenic Simi Valley, said she hoped that the city would focus on getting knives out of schools.

“I feel that overall this is a very safe community,” Gordon said. “We need to work harder to make sure children do not have weapons at school.”

Gordon, who moved from Chatsworth seven years ago, said she feels comfortable walking after dark in her Indian Hills neighborhood.

“There’s a sense of community here,” she said. “That’s why we’re such a safe city, because people look after each other.”

Simi Valley Crime Statistics

1991 1992 1993 Homicide 7 2 0 Rape 13 11 18 Robbery 64 76 54 Assault 155 153 151 Burglary 1,371 1,242 1,084 Theft 337 367 383 Auto Theft 444 439 369 Arson 27 40 23 Totals 2,418 2,330 2,082

Source: Simi Valley Police Department