(Editor’s note: This story is the second in a series on 2025 crime data for Ventura County.)
Crime in Oxnard dropped incrementally by 1% in 2025 from 2024, while enforcement changes could be the cause for the rise of certain crimes, according to authorities.
The Oxnard Police Department released its crime statistics for 2025, showing the city had a total of 9,632 reported incidents in 2025, slightly lower compared to the 9,744 incidents the year before.
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 such as assault, crimes against property such as theft and crimes against society including illegal drugs.
Crimes against society such as illegal drugs was the only category to see an increase, and saw a marked jump of 42%. The department reported 2,301 total incidents in 2025 compared to 1,616 incidents the year prior.
Under that category, drug and narcotic offenses rose to 2,034 incidents in 2025 from 1,360 incidents in 2024, a 50% uptick. The increase is due to California’s Proposition 36, which changed the way certain crimes were classified, including possession of drugs, said police Cmdr. Cody Collet.
Another notable increase in crimes under the same society category came from pornography and obscene material, which went from seven incidents in 2024 to 17 incidents in 2025, more than doubling such incidents. Collet said the department had increased enforcement action there due to a partnership with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation.
A DA’s office investigator, funded by the city of Oxnard, has been focusing on cracking down on online crimes against children in Oxnard under a special three-year agreement that started July 2024.
Crimes against property had the steepest drop for a category. That category includes crimes such as robbery, arson and motor vehicle thefts. It dropped 13% from 6,008 incidents in 2024 to 5,234 incidents in 2025, the release says.
Crimes against people, which include murder and sex offenses, showed a drop of 1%, with 2025 having 2,097 incidents compared to 2,210 incidents the year prior.
Oxnard had four murder cases in 2025, one less than in 2024, with all four murders resulting in arrests, according to a news release.
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: Oxnard crime stats released. How city improved, where it regressed
Reporting by Ernesto Centeno Araujo, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
