(Editor’s note: This story is the third in a series on 2025 crime data for Ventura County.)
Overall crime in Simi Valley fell by over 5% in 2025 compared to the year before, but the city saw an increase in certain crimes.
The Simi Valley Police Department released its crime statistics for 2025, showing the city had a total of 2,801 reported incidents in 2025, while there were 2,968 incidents the year before.
“It is important to emphasize that a decline does not mean crime has been eliminated,” said police Chief Steve Shorts, in a news release.
Shorts said the department aims to “continue to implement proactive policing strategies and work in close partnership with the community to further reduce crime and enhance public safety.”
The department provides the data every year as part of the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System, which has crime split into three categories: crimes against people, crimes against property and crimes against society.
Crimes against society such as possession of illegal drugs saw the only increase out of all categories in 2025, with 490 reported last year compared to 384 the year prior, a rise of 27.6%, according to department data.
Similar to other agencies across the county, the police department credits the rise in crimes for the category to “proactive enforcement by either patrol, narcotics or task forces related to drug enforcement,” said police Sgt. Rick Morton.
Out of the other two categories, crimes against property such as theft or fraud had the most significant reported decrease of 13.28%. There were 1,632 reported crimes in 2025, while the year prior had 1,882.
The department said in a news release that the decrease reflects a “continued success in prevention, enforcement and investigative efforts targeting theft and burglary-related offenses.”
Crimes against people such as assault incidents fell by 3.28% year over year, with 679 reported crimes in 2025, while there were 702 the year before. The department says these crimes “most directly impact victims.”
The city also saw one less reported murder in 2025, just two compared to three in 2024.
The police department also included call statistics for the past three years.
The data shows that in 2025, there were fewer calls for service, or calls for police officers to respond to. There were 45,553 calls last year compared to 52,452 in 2024.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Crime in Simi Valley by the numbers. Inside the latest statistics
Reporting by Ernesto Centeno Araujo, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
