Crime Prevention is everybody’s business. No one can argue the City of Simi Valley is a safe place, but what if we told you we could make it even safer? We just need your help.
In 2017, Southern California experienced a number of crime patterns and significant property crimes that affected our city as well. As a result, our city saw an increase in crime such as burglary, theft, stolen vehicles, and shoplifts.
So, what types of incidents have contributed to our increase in crime?
• Daytime and evening residential burglaries where gang crews were seen prowling, entering homes and targeting cash, jewelry, and firearms.
• Baby formula thefts escalated from grocery stores, but Simi Valley Police stayed on top of this series resulting in twelve (12) arrests in four (4) days.
• Commercial burglaries committed by “Smash and Grabbers” came into the city, where multiple suspects motivated by the economic thrill targeted our small business community looking for cash and electronics.
• Shoplift increased at our local retail stores.
• Good news; theft from “locked” vehicles decreased.
• Bad news; theft from “unlocked” vehicles increased.
Last year, most of the crime that occurred in our neighborhoods was preventable. Crooks like it when vehicles are unlocked; it makes their job easy as it requires little effort on their part to steal our cash, electronics, and identity.
Let’s put an end to preventable crime and let burglars and thieves know you are watching them.
• Lock your vehicle. It takes seconds to break a window, but doing so makes noise and criminals hate making noise.
• Most vehicle crime is from unlocked vehicles. If you leave it, LOCK IT.
• Hide valuables from sight, or even better, take items with you. If criminals don’t see anything, they are less likely to break in and will go to the next vehicle.
• If you see suspicious activity, call the police immediately at (805) 583-6950.
Remember that YOU are an important partner in the fight against crime. Simply locking your vehicle and removing property from inside is half the battle.
For additional crime prevention information, please contact Crime Prevention Coordinator Jean-Marie Maroshek at (805) 583-6276 or [email protected]
