Home break-ins up in Thousand Oaks

A rise in the number of home burglaries between January and June in Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Ojai drove a countywide 19 percent increase in residential break-ins, according to a recent report released by the Ventura County Sheriff 's Department.

The report compares crime statistics in the five cities- Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo, Fillmore and Ojai- and the unincorporated areas throughout Ventura County served by the sheriff's department.

The law enforcement agency reported 297 home burglaries, compared to 249 for the same period last year. Thousand Oaks reported the most number of home break-ins with 130 over the past six months, while Moorpark saw a rise in home burglaries from 13 in the first half of 2006 to 27 in the first half of this year.

Fillmore and Camarillo enjoyed drops in home burglaries of 14 and 13 percent, respectively. There was also a 15 percent drop in home burglaries in unincorporated areas of Ventura County.

Overall, however, the sheriff's department reported a 21 percent drop in violent crimes- homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault- as compared to last year.

Most significant was the drop in murders.

Last year, four homicides were reported throughout the county in the first part of the year. This year, only one was reported.

Reports of aggravated assault were also down across the county. Thouasand Oaks saw a 29 percent drop in the number of aggravated assault incidents, from 65 last year to 46 this year. The unincorporated areas of the county reported a 13 percent decrease in aggravated assaults from 83 to 72.

Fillmore, with a 4 percent increase, was the only city to post a rise in the total number of violent crimes from 28 reported last year, compared to 29 this year.

Petty theft remains the number one reported crime across the county. It accounts for 40 percent of the total reported crimes.

- Daniel Wolowicz