Simi Valley sees 21.44% decline in violent and property crimes in 2019

Major crime in Simi Valley was down more than 21% in 2019 compared to the prior year, according to newly released statistics. 

“I think the value in this for the community is showing that our crimes. ... We’ve been trending down for a number of years now,” said Police Chief David Livingstone. 

The 2019 trend is highlighted in what’s called a Uniform Crime Report that law enforcement agencies send each year to the U.S. Department of Justice. The report includes a look at certain violent and property crimes reported in a city. 

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According to the Simi Valley Police Department’s 2019 numbers, there was a decline in reported violent and property crimes, from 1,707 in 2018 to 1,341 in 2019, a 21.44% reduction. Violent crimes include homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, while property crimes include burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson. 

A couple of exceptions

Although the overall trend was downward, there were a couple of notable exceptions. 

While the city saw zero homicides in 2018, it saw one in 2019 — a murder-suicide reported Nov. 7 in the Wood Ranch area. It happened after Esparanza Guadalupe Cullen, 58, had come from Las Vegas to visit her son Michael John Cullen, 33, police said. The son shot his mother and turned the gun on himself, authorities said. 

Arson cases also increased, from two in 2018 to seven in 2019. 

Arson has fluctuated in the past few years, said Livingstone, who stipulated that the cases don’t involve big blazes like a brush or house fire. Instead, they’re mostly acts of vandalism such as a trash can being set on fire. No injuries were reported in connection with 2019 arson incidents, he said. 

Generally, Livingstone said, violent crimes are reported more often than property crimes. Property crimes can be underreported, for example, if a person thinks the loss wasn’t great enough to warrant a police response, Livingstone said. 

What about violent and property crimes?

Overall, violent crimes were down, going from 214 in 2018 to 146 in 2019, according to the data. Among the highlights: 

• Reported rapes fell from 46 in 2018 to 15 in 2019. Most of the rapes in both years did not involve strangers, Livingstone said.
• The city saw 112 aggravated assaults in 2018, compared to 95 in 2019. Many were domestic violence cases, Livingstone said. These are difficult to prevent, he said, and the focus is on ensuring the victim is aware of available resources.
• After 56 robberies were reported in 2018, there were 35 in the city in 2019. Some stem from a shoplifting that escalates, Livingstone said. Often, a store employee confronts a shoplifter leaving the store and the employee or an officer gets hurt, making it a robbery, Livingstone said. 

Property crimes declined from 1,493 in 2018 to 1,195 in 2019, the statistics show. A breakdown of property crimes showed:  

• Simi Valley was the site of 253 burglaries reported in 2018, declining to 208 in 2019. 
• The larceny category of theft saw a decline from 1,118 incidents in 2018 to 889 in 2019.
• There were 120 auto thefts in 2018, with the total declining to 91 in 2019. 

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The 1,341 crimes accounted for in the 2019 report represent only a small number of incidents officers respond to, Livingstone said. For example, Simi police had 65,473 calls for service in 2019, compared to 62,916 in 2018, Livingstone said. 

The annual crime report also doesn’t reflect other issues going on in Simi Valley, Livingstone said. It doesn’t show the growing opioid epidemic, the resurgence of meth or the number of people making the roads unsafe by driving under the influence, he said.

“Often when you see a low number, of course as the chief, I love to see that ... but we have to stay vigilant and engage the community because with that stronger relationship and camaraderie, we are most effective at preventing crime,” Livingstone said. 

Megan Diskin is a courts and breaking news reporter with The Star. Reach her at megan.diskin@vcstar.com or 805-437-0258. 

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