Funds to Be Sought for Youth Crime Program

Ventura County officials are seeking a $4.5 million state grant for a three-year pilot program aimed at reducing juvenile crime in south Oxnard.

The county’s Corrections Services Agency would use the money to hire more probation officers and additional mental health and drug and alcohol personnel to work with Oxnard offenders, said Calvin Remington, deputy director of the agency. A portion of the money would also be used to hire one full-time city police officer.

Offenders who participate in the proposed South Oxnard Challenge Project would sign a statement acknowledging responsibility for their crimes and identifying the community service they plant to do as restitution, Remington said.

The statements would have to be approved by victims as well as community members, he said.

The program would focus on south Oxnard because that city sends a disproportionate share of offenders to county juvenile and adult corrections systems, officials said.

For example, while Oxnard accounts for only 21% of the county’s youth, the city’s youngsters represent 45% of those in juvenile institutions and 40% of those on probation.

The corrections agency will ask the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday for authorization to apply for the state money. The agency would be notified before June if it qualifies for the grant.

If all goes well, Remington said, the agency could launch its pilot program as early as October.