The Oxnard Police Department is urging the public to help keep the streets safe this Thanksgiving and upcoming holiday season. The number one killer on our highways is the impaired driver. In 2008, alcohol attributed to 1,029 deaths in California with more than 30,000 injured, many still suffering with life-long disabilities.

The Oxnard Police Department will begin its crackdown on DUI drivers this holiday season by conducting multi-location sobriety and driver’s license checkpoints on Thursday, November 19th, from 6:00 P.M. to 12:00 A.M. and on Saturday, November 21st, from 6:00 P.M. to 12:00 A.M. The checkpoints will be held at various locations throughout the City of Oxnard.

In addition to the checkpoints, officers from the Oxnard Police Department will also be out in force on Monday night, November 23rd, 2009, conducting a DUI saturation patrol. These officers will patrol the streets of Oxnard specifically searching for impaired drivers.

The added DUI enforcement on Halloween night this year was proven to be successful with 10 DUI arrests and no alcohol related crashes.

The DUI checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols are funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Oxnard Police Department wants everyone to have a wonderful holiday season and if you choose to celebrate with alcohol, we recommend the following tips:

• Plan a safe way home before your celebration begins
• If you plan to get a ride home with someone else, designate a sober driver before any drinking begins
• If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation so you are sure to get home safely
• If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate – Call 9-1-1
• If you know someone who is about to drive his/her car or ride a motorcycle while impaired, take away the keys and help make other arrangements for a safe ride home

The Oxnard Police Department will continue conducting Sobriety and Driver’s License checkpoints and saturation patrols over the upcoming holiday season in an effort to reduce the number of alcohol related crashes and to make our roadways and community safer.

In addition to our DUI enforcement, The Oxnard Police Department is strictly enforcing seatbelt violations during our Click it or Ticket campaign that started November 17th and runs through November 30th.

For any questions related to DUI and traffic enforcement, please contact Senior Officer Brian Woolley at (805) 385-7749 or via e-mail at [email protected].

DETAILS: 

On 09-07-2009 at 5:13 p.m., several witnesses reported a fight involving a gun in the 1100 block of Rigging Place. Officers from the Oxnard Police Department responded to the location.

The alleged victim on Rigging Place was uncooperative with the investigation; nevertheless officers initiated traffic stops on both suspect vehicles. One stop was conducted at Isleton Street and M Street; the second stop at Wooley Road and J Street.

No weapon was located in either vehicle. One of the vehicle occupants was arrested on an unrelated parole violation. Hiram Madrid Ramirez, 38 years, of Oxnard, is being held without bail at the Ventura County Jail.

Persons with additional information about this incident or any crime are encouraged to call the Oxnard Police Department Violent Crimes Hotline at (805) 982-7070 or Ventura County Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

An investigation is continuing.

GET HOME SAFELY FOR THE HOLIDAYS BY BUCKLING UP

Oxnard, Calif. – Make sure everyone in the family gets home safely this holiday season by buckling your seat belt every trip, day and night. That’s the message that the Oxnard Police Department is telling drivers as part of the 2009 holiday Click It or Ticket mobilization, November 17 – 30. Officers will be out in force looking for anyone – driver, passenger or child – not properly restrained.

Given the years of public awareness campaigns, including hundreds of Click It or Ticket highway signs, no warnings will be given out. The Click It or Ticket campaign relies on heavy enforcement and education as a means to help save lives on California’s roadways.

"There is absolutely no question that seat belts save lives," said John Crombach, Oxnard Chief of Police. "Buckling up will not only save you a heavy fine, it can also save your life."

Currently California has a seat belt usage rate of 95.4 percent, but that still means over 1.5 million people in the state are not buckling up. Properly restrained drivers, passengers and children have a 50 percent better chance of surviving a crash than unbelted occupants. Those ejected from vehicles in crashes or roll-overs are up to 35 times more likely to die than restrained occupants.

"There are no excuses. Nothing is worth risking the lives of you or your family," said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. "This should be the season of joy and thanksgiving, not tragedy."

More than 175 local law enforcement agencies statewide and the CHP will be participating in this year’s Click It or Ticket mobilization. Funding to support California’s Click It or Ticket campaign was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

DETAILS: 

The Oxnard Police Department unveiled a new component to its existing Crime Free Business program called, "Hats Off to Beat Crime." The  purpose  of the  program  is to reduce robbery and violence in retail establishments.

The Hats Off program is adapted from a successful crime prevention effort undertaken by the Folkestone Police Station in Kent, England. According to Police Constable John Weller of the Folkestone Neighbourhood [sic-British spelling] Policing Unit, the Hats Off effort dates back some 300 years. "I found out that King Carlos III of Spain introduced a similar program in the 1700s where he banned the wearing a broad-brimmed hats, which were being used to conceal the identity of criminals." (Citation: The History of Spain by Peter Pierson, pp.78-79, published by Greenwood,2008.)

The concept behind Oxnard’s Hats Off campaign is not much different from that of ancient Spain. Many commercial robberies in our city occur with suspects concealing their faces with hats, hoodies or helmets. The 8" by 10" full-color sticker (as pictured above) is available to any Oxnard-based business. It is placed near the entrances of the business as a reminder to customers to remove head apparel before entering.

Refusing to remove hats, hoodies or helmets does not constitute a crime in of itself, but business owners do have the right to refuse service to persons so dressed. California law makes the obstruction or intimidation of businesses or its employees a misdemeanor.* Therefore, business owners have discretion in who they choose to serve based on apparel and the threat of criminal activity.

"You have to wonder why a person would go into a business with their face concealed," says Detective Marty Ennis, Crime Free coordinator with the Oxnard Police Department. "If you’re not a crook, why would you want to look like one?"

Oxnard police recommend that owners pay particular attention to customers who conceal their faces. "Employees are well within the rights to ask a customer to comply with the sign," said Ennis. "If the customer refuses to cooperate, the store employee can ask the customer to leave. If the customer refuses to leave, the police should be called because the situation has escalated to a possible criminal act." Persons who fail to cooperate with the reasonable requests of business employees may be subject to arrest.

Businesses interested in the Hats Off campaign or the Crime Free Business program can contact Detective Martin Ennis at (805) 385-8349 or [email protected]. Additional information is available online at http://www.oxnardpd.org/crimefreebusiness/.

Two Oxnard firefighters and a Riverside man barely escaped serious injury or death early this morning when a Metrolink train struck a passenger vehicle at the intersection of 5th Street and Rice Avenue in the city of Oxnard.

The initial call came into Oxnard dispatch at 5:34 am – the callers reported a two vehicle traffic collision at that location. Oxnard firefighters and police responded – arriving on scene at 5:40. Realizing one of the involved vehicles was inoperable on the train track, firefighters called dispatch to inform Union Pacific of the collision and to report that a vehicle was disabled on the track.

As that call to Union Pacific was underway the warning arm of the Union Pacific stanchion came down – at that point officers and firefighters could see the train coming toward them. The Metrolink, traveling at approximately 60 mph, was unable to stop in time and struck the vehicle on the track.

Prior to the vehicle being struck by the train two firefighters had been assisting the driver, who was still in the vehicle as it sat on the track. The firefighters were concerned about possible neck or back injuries to the man in the vehicle and were administering aid to him. As aid was being given the firefighters and police officers realized the train was coming. At this point the eastbound train was approximately 200 yards from hitting the vehicle. Oxnard firefighter Graham Dunbar, age 30 with just 13 months with OFD, was inside the vehicle with the injured driver. A second Oxnard firefighter – Guillermo Garay, age 29 also was adjacent to the vehicle asisting the passenger when the train was struck.

Seeing the train quickly approaching these two firefighters had only a few seconds to make the decision whether to flee the vehicle themselves or risk greater injury or death and pull the injured driver from the car. The two firefighters made the decision to pull the injured man from the vehicle before impact occured. As they pulled the man from the car – Firefighter Dunbar was able to put his body over the man in an effort to protect him from the flying debris. They were approximately five feet from the train as it hit the car stuck on the tracks.

As impact occured every emergency responder on scene dove for cover. In talking to several of the firefighters and police officers afterwards they stated that at the moment of impact they were unaware of whether or not the firefighters and the injured man had been able to get out of the way of the train. Obviously they were greatly relieved to see that everyone survived with no injuries, although the officers and firefighters involved were very shaken by this incident.

The injured driver, identified as Miguel Reyes, age 32 of Riverside, was transported to St. Johns for treatment of injuries sustained in the initial vehicle collision – his injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

If anyone would like to interview either of these two firefighters – please contact Deborah or David and interviews will be arranged.

The scene was cleared by 8:00 am and traffic is moving normally through the area at this time.

For further information please contact:

• Deborah O’Malia @ 340-7716
• David Keith @ 385-7631

DETAILS: 

“AVOID THE 14” DUI ENFORCEMENT CAMPAIGN IN FULL SWING LEADING UP TO THE LABOR DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND

18-day crackdown started Friday, Aug. 21

The DUI enforcement calendar is full for the next few weeks in Ventura County as “Avoid the 14” sets out after drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs.

All 14 departments cooperating under the Avoid the 14 banner will send officers to a Saturday, August 29, DUI task force operation on Highway 101 corridor. One team will cover from the Los Angeles County line to the Conejo Grade; the second will patrol from the grade to the Santa Barbara County line. The officers will aggressively seek out DUI drivers and arrest them. Approximately 20 officers will participate in this DUI enforcement operation.

Two, multi-agency, DUI checkpoints are scheduled during the Labor Day mobilization; one on Friday, August 28, in Oxnard, and another checkpoint in Camarillo on Friday, September 4.

Nine in-city DUI patrols are set for the weekend of August 22, and another nine for the Labor Day weekend.

The crackdown is part of a summer mobilization that covers “Avoid” campaigns in 40 other counties in the state and police departments throughout the United States. The theme is “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” The California Office of Traffic Safety funds “Avoid the 14” with money from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the organization that sponsors the mobilization.

In addition to the DUI saturations and DUI checkpoints, “Avoid” agencies will run DUI warrant operations. During these operations, officers and deputies will serve outstanding warrants on individuals who have failed to comply with the terms of their DUI probation or who have failed to appear in court for their DUI-related offense. Police advise people who know they have a warrant to visit their local police headquarters and clear the warrant up to avoid having officers knock on their doors or show up at their workplaces.

In addition to the enforcement efforts over the Labor Day holiday, the Oxnard Police Department will continue its DUI-reduction efforts by hosting additional sobriety/drivers license checkpoints. These checkpoints will take place on Thursday, September 17, and on Friday, September 25th. They will be held at multiple locations within the city of Oxnard and are funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety.

DATE: August 25, 2009

DETAILS: 

On August 15, 2009, the Oxnard Police Department and the City of Oxnard Code Compliance conducted an illegal vendor enforcement operation in the City of Oxnard. This operation was in response to numerous complaints from residents about illegal vendors in the community. This was the second illegal vending enforcement operation in 2009. Officers from the Oxnard Police Department and City of Oxnard Code Compliance were assisted by citizens from the Volunteers in Policing Program.

Officers contacted several illegal vendors; numerous citations were issued and several subjects were arrested. The following are the results of the enforcement operation:

• Three suspects were arrested for possession of counterfeit DVD’s and CD’s. Over 500 counterfeit DVD’s and CD’s were confiscated. Investigators from the Motion Picture Association of America were notified and will be assisting with the investigation. 
• Nine citations were issued for violations of Oxnard City Ordinance 11-4(a): Business License Required and Oxnard City Ordinance 11-45(a): Health Permit Required. Six citations were issued to car wash vendors and three were issued to food vendors. An inspector from Ventura County Environmental Health also issued 3 warnings to subjects regarding unhealthful business practices. 
• Four citations were issued to car wash vendors for violation of Oxnard City Ordinance 22-218(b): Wastewater Containment System Required. It is now a requirement for car wash vendors to have a containment system to collect wastewater so it does not drain into the sewer system and eventually to the ocean. Two car wash vendors were also issued citations for driving without a license.

DATE: August 1, 2009

DETAILS:  

In 2008, the City of Oxnard experienced a 24% reduction in traffic collisions as compared to the prior year. To date in 2009, we are enjoying another significant reduction; down another 19%. We attribute these successes to many sources. Our Traffic Unit has provided the leadership for a coordinated effort by our entire Department to improve traffic safety. Each Traffic officer is responsible for lowering the number of traffic collisions in his/her beat. The officers are given the discretion to do whatever they need to do to improve traffic safety. Through community meetings and collision data they determine the hotspots in their beats and develop the best strategies to address the problem areas.

One of our common strategies is community outreach. Our citywide public information campaign included a listing and explanation of our top five primary collision factors. The factors are consistent from year to year and beat to beat. They include: unsafe speed, following too closely, unsafe lane change, failure to yield and red light violations. Another common strategy is an examination of particular intersections to see if any possible changes would make them safer. Our Traffic officers meet with the City’s traffic engineer on a regular basis to discuss how these roadways are designed and posted.

We also know that ultimately, enforcement is needed to change behavior. With an emphasis on aggressive and inattentive drivers, Oxnard officers have written a significantly higher number of traffic citations in 2009. Many of these motorists are unaware of the risk associated with their unsafe practices and have become lackadaisical in regards to traffic safety. We’re trying to get the word out that traffic collisions are not accidents and that the vast majority of them could have been avoided.

In addition to publicity campaigns, our officers will also do enforcement campaigns throughout the year. These campaigns will not only focus on particular areas, but certain violations as well. Examples include seatbelt, failure to yield and cell phone violations. While seatbelt compliance is high, we still regularly see preventable injuries as a result of motorists not wearing seatbelts. Cell phone compliance is low throughout the county. If you’ve ever stood in a crosswalk at an uncontrolled intersection, you know that drivers in our county don’t always yield to pedestrians as they should.

In the first 6 months of 2009, our officers have written 11779 traffic citations. This is a 39% increase over 2008 and compares to a total of 8472 citations for the first six months of 2008. The number of driving under the influence (DUI) arrests is also up by 16% so far this year.

Not only is our overall number of traffic collisions lower by 19%, but:

• injury traffic collisions decreased by 8.5% and 
• fatal traffic collisions decreased from 5 to 3 in the first six months of 2009.

We will also support this emphasis on traffic safety with better equipment and training for our officers. This equipment and training will allow our officers to more effectively enforce DUI, speed, and other unsafe driving practices. In these challenging economic times, much of this increased effort will be grant funded.

DETAILS: 

An anonymous call to 9-1-1 early this morning led to the arrests of four juveniles and one adult for a variety of vehicle-related crimes.