OXNARD : City to Hire 4 Police Officers With Grants

The Oxnard City Council has decided to match federal money and spend about $59,000 from this year’s reserve fund to hire four more police officers.

The Oxnard Police Department was notified last month that it was eligible for federal grants, totaling up to $300,000 for three years, to hire an additional four police officers.

It plans to hire the officers by Jan. 14 and enroll them in the police academy Jan. 30, according to a city report. The new employees would boost the Oxnard police force to 119 sworn officers.

The grant only lasts three years, and after that Oxnard will have to assume all costs for the officers, a total of about $172,000 a year, officials said.

The Oxnard Police Department was one of six Ventura County law enforcement agencies that were offered a total of $1.1 million from President Clinton’s $30-billion anti-crime package to hire 15 officers, with the condition that the agencies had to match funds.

Officials from most of the other departments have said that they would not be able to pay their part, despite an urgent need for more officers.

The Oxnard City Council on Tuesday also decided to allow the Police Department to bill drunk drivers for the time it takes police officers to impound their cars and book them into jail. Officials expect to recoup about $73,000 annually.

Police said the plan was aimed at reducing the number of people killed and injured due to alcohol-related crashes in Oxnard. In 1993, 57% of the traffic fatalities in Oxnard involved alcohol--13% higher than the national average.