Crime Prevention Officer Assigned

In response to calls from Oak Park residents for better law enforcement, the Ventura County sheriff has assigned a full-time crime prevention officer to the small, unincorporated area.

Although Oak Park has one of the lowest crime rates in the county, residents have long complained that their neighborhoods are under-patrolled by sheriff’s deputies.

At a town hall meeting on public safety in February, most residents favored the assignment of additional officers to the area as the best way to combat slow response times and traffic violations. They were particularly upset about speeders on the winding Lindero Canyon Road.

The area has long been served by one patrol car, which split its time between Oak Park and the unincorporated areas of Bell Canyon and Lake Sherwood. Last year, sheriff’s officials added a second car to patrol all three areas.

Starting this summer, Senior Deputy Matt Findlay will be responsible for the community’s crime prevention programs. Part of his duties will include teaching the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in Oak Park schools.

Senior Deputy Patti Dreyer, also a crime prevention officer, said appointing Findlay to the job is the first step toward creating a storefront sheriff’s substation in the community.