The city of Thousand Oaks saw an overall crime rate decrease of 8 percent last year compared to 2007, although the number of violent crimes has increased slightly.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department's released 2008 crime statistics last week.

The overall crime rate in Ventura County decreased 6 percent in 2008 as compared to the year prior.

Capt. Ross Bonfiglio said the decrease was "absolutely good news."

Violent crime had a very slight increase—about 1 percent—in the county and in Thousand Oaks. Within that category, 22 more robberies were reported in the sheriff's jurisdiction in 2008 than in 2007. In Thousand Oaks, robberies decreased from 38 to 37 last year.

Six more aggravated assaults were recorded in 2008 in Thousand Oaks—93 compared to 87 in 2007.

"That's a category we want to monitor in the next year with the fiscal meltdown the nation is experiencing," said Capt. Jeff Matson, chief of the Thousand Oaks Police Department.

"Because of the economy, people are losing their jobs. It creates more stress on the family, and we could start seeing more domestic violence calls," he said.

Eight homicides occurred in the county in 2008, compared to four in 2007.

Two of the homicides were in Thousand Oaks last year, the same number as in 2007.

Of the eight homicides in the county, four were gang-related and two were possibly gangrelated. Since its re-formation in February 2007, the Sheriff's Gang Unit has made more than 400 arrests, confiscated close to 90 guns and served more than 150 search warrants, according to a statement from the department.

"We are going to continue to focus on gang violence," Bonfiglio said. "While we make more progress, we'll probably see a lower homicide rate."

Five more rapes were reported in the county in 2008, but the 16 reported in Thousand Oaks numbered three less than in 2007.

In 80 percent of the cases, the victim and the offender knew one another. In 41 percent of the cases, alcohol or other drugs had been used by the victim. In all cases where gender was established, the victims were female and the suspects were male.

A 6 percent decrease in property crimes in the county in 2008 meant 294 fewer than in 2007. Property crime accounted for about 91 percent of all county crime reported last year. Within the city it decreased 9 percent, and residential burglaries dropped 26 percent, from 203 to 150.

"I was pleasantly surprised with the property crime numbers," Bonfiglio said. "The speculation was that it would go up with the economy deteriorating. Logically, it seems like that could occur. We could see a jump this year."

Bonfiglio credited the drop to an educational campaign warning people to stop leaving valuable items in unlocked vehicles.

"We were seeing tons of property crimes," he said. "They were easy targets. We worked with the public to let them know that even though they are in a statistically safe area, there are still opportunities for criminals."

Matson agreed.

"You can prevent all vehicle burglaries by doing that," said Matson, referring to keeping valuables out of parked cars. "People feel safe here, so they don't lock their doors, and they leave garages open. We've fought for that for as long as I've been in Ventura County."