National Day of Remembrance for Murdered Victims:  The Ventura County Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children (POMC) sponsored a National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims ceremony  the evening of Sept. 25^th at Plaza Park in Oxnard.  There were an estimated 300 family members in attendance who were there to show their forever-love for some 50 Ventura County murder victims.  Master of ceremonies was OPD’s Asst. Ch. Scott Whitney and the guest speaker was Denise Brown of the Nicole Brown Foundation.  We watched as family members, ranging from little children to seniors, each with a candle in his or her hands, one by one, tolled the bell for a deceased loved one.  It was a reminder to me that law enforcement must have the help of the community.  Though Crime Stoppers provides valuable information when enforcement is needed, we especially need volunteers who are willing to work with at-risk youth and their families.  For more information about POMC go to http://www.pomc.org/venturacounty                                

Oxnard Police Dept. District 4 Crime Prevention Fair

On October 3rd the District 4 team, with the help of Explorers and Volunteers in Policing held a Crime Fair to get information out to the  Fair was to remind residents that they need to continue taking precautions, despite the fact that crime is down in the area. The Department’s Mobile Command Post was set up at the Fair, and VIP coordinator Robert Worthley was also on hand seeking recruits for the VIP program.

Ventura County Crime Stoppers representative Leo Alvarez, a retired 33-year veteran of OPD, was also there distributing information on the Crime Stoppers program. Others who got involved with this first-time event were Interface Children/Family Services, the Community Emergency Response Team, Law Enforcement Explorers, radio station Q104.7, who provided music for the day, and Sasaki Kenpo studio, who entertained with a demonstration on martial arts techniques.