Sheriff releases 2023 crime statistics
By Gazette Staff Writers — Thursday, February 29th, 2024
The Ventura County Sheriff’s office recently released the 2023 Crime Statistics for the County of Ventura. Above are the 2021–2023 Comparison of Reported Crimes. See more photos on page 10. Above is the remainder of the 2021–2023 Comparison of Reported Crimes for the City of Fillmore. Courtesy Ventura County Sheriff’s office. Sheriff Jim Fryhoff has released the 2023 crime statistics for all areas serviced by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. Regarding violent crime, aggravated assaults saw the highest increase (133 incidents, 106%), with all categories showing increases (firearm, knife, other, hands/fist/feet related offenses). There were significant increases in firearm-related aggravated assaults and much of the increase was related to brandishing of firearms to multiple victims. Within some of the contract cities, there were gang-related violent crimes that also attributed to our increase in violent crime. Our agency has continued to use community awareness and engagement (social media, events, media releases, proactive communication), and proactive policing solutions to combat crime within the areas we serve. This spring, the Sheriff’s Office is launching a multi-agency task force to combat organized retail theft, cargo theft, and catalytic converter theft. There was a decrease in Homicide incidents for the Sheriff’s Office (six total incidents). Out of these six homicides, half involved family member-on-family member. “In looking at violent crime statistics for 2023, you can see a significant jump in comparison to the previous year. We did see a noticeable decrease in violent crime during and following the global pandemic. However, the trend we are seeing now is that incidents involving violent crime have returned to pre-pandemic numbers. In a county our size, with as little crime as we do have in comparison to other jurisdictions across the nation, a few cases in a calendar year can result in a sizeable spike in crime statistics, evidence of which can be showcased by simply comparing the figures from 2022 to 2023,” said Sheriff Jim Fryhoff. He continued, “Overall, crime across the board is down, as we had nearly 100 fewer criminal offenses in 2023 than the previous year. My office will never take our foot off the gas when it comes to reducing crime. We will continue to focus our efforts on outreach, community engagement, education, and working closely with partners inside and outside of the criminal justice system, which is crucial for effective violence reduction.” Commander Eric Tennessen – Camarillo (805) 797-7102 For more information, please visit us at venturasheriff.org. You can also link directly to a statement by Sheriff Fryhoff that details our mission, strategy, and vision as well as Sheriff Fryhoff’s Seven Pillars for providing law enforcement services in Ventura County. For information regarding recruitment and job opportunities, please visit applyventurasheriff.org. |