Ventura’s crime statistics are based on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR), defined as the number of crimes committed per 1,000 residents. Part I Crimes are comprised of eight offenses, broken down into two categories. Violent crime includes homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Property crime includes burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
The City of Ventura experienced a 3/10ths of one percent increase in reported Part I Crime in 2020. Overall, Part I Crimes totaled 3446, which was 12 more offenses than were reported in 2019.
Part I Violent Crime saw a significant decrease of 28.38% in 2020, with 130 fewer offenses reported in 2019. Aggravated assaults decreased 31.4%, with 92 fewer reported assaults, and sexual assaults decreased by 44.64%, with 25 fewer reported crimes. Robberies also had a reduction of 11.32%, and homicides decreased from 3 in 2019 to 2 in 2020.
Part I Property Crime increased slightly by 4.77%, with significant increases in commercial burglaries and arson. Commercial burglary increased by 60.99%, arson increased by 342.86%, and motor vehicle theft increased by 7.48%. Residential burglaries and larceny saw a small reduction compared to 2019, with 2.34% and 0.34% reductions, respectively.
The impacts of COVID-19 and the stay-at-home health orders impacted the City’s crime rates this past year. Many residents were home more often, decreasing the likelihood of residential burglaries, while commercial businesses were burglarized at a higher rate due to business closures and restricted hours of operation. Arson saw the most significant increase, and many of those crimes occurred in the watershed areas or were trash fires
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