Mike Lewis Commander Mike Lewis will soon be trading in the tan and green uniform he's worn during his nearly 30 years with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department for the dress blues of the Simi Valley Police Department, where he's been hired as the city's new chief of police.

"Commander Lewis will bring a well-rounded law enforcement background and the leadership skills necessary to continue the fine tradition of excellence of the Simi Valley Police Department," said Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell.

"Not only does (Lewis) possess a superior work history, he has always demonstrated a strong desire and commitment to becoming an integral part of our community."

Lewis, 53, is Camarillo's current chief of police. He begins the job as Simi's top cop on Sept. 25, replacing Mark Layhew, who retired earlier this month.

Camarillo city officials have already named Stephen DeCesari, head of the Ventura County Jail, as Lewis' replacement.

"We're sad for us that he's leaving, but we're happy for Simi and we're happy for him that he's going on to some new and exciting challenges in his life," Chief Dep. Geoff Dean said.

Lewis and Dean, longtime friends, have served together for 27 years with the Sheriff's Department. Dean said Lewis is the "consummate professional" with a reputation for staying cool under pressure and the administrative know-how to keep a police station running smoothly.

To take the new job with Simi Valley, Lewis will retire from the Sheriff's Department.

During his nearly 30 years with the county, Lewis has served as the chief of the Moorpark Police Department and headed the Professional Standards Bureau-the division that oversees training and internal affairs.

Lewis also worked various collateral assignments, including a number of years on the SWAT team and as a crew chief with the county's air and rescue unit.

Lewis said it was while he was a crew chief on a late night mission into the Ojai Valley to help with a car that had gone off the road that he felt like he was in the greatest danger while on the job.

He said the pilot-a Vietnam veteran with a lot of time in the air-soon realized the night flight was too dangerous for the helicopter's crew and eventually turned back before they were in need of their own rescue.

Dean said he remembers a time in the mid-1990s when Lewis arrived at a home in Moorpark where a woman had barricaded herself inside the house armed with knives.

Dean said he was about to call for the SWAT team when Lewis, along with two other deputies, talked the woman into surrendering, avoiding a possibly deadly situation.

Although the area has become more densely populated and traffic congestion has swelled throughout Ventura County, Lewis said much about crime remains the same. Drugs and teens have continued to be a dangerous mix, drunk drivers are still a problem and every community-no matter how safe-experiences some type of crime, Lewis said.

The biggest change for police work in the past three decades has been the advance of technology, according to Lewis.

"When I first started, I guess I can say there were no computers, so to speak," Lewis said. "Everything was typed. We hand wrote all of our reports. Now we've made the big leap to where we have the computer terminals in our cars."

He said forensic sciences have also made significant advances since he started on the force in the mid-1970s.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Cal State Los Angeles and a master's degree in public administration from Cal State Northridge.

Lewis said his departure is "bittersweet," as he leaves behind many of the people he worked with and with whom he has developed friendships.

Regardless, he's excited about his new role in Simi Valley.

"Simi Valley has a great reputation as a safe community," Lewis said. "In a city that's 100,000 and over, it's constantly ranked at the top. So, that'll be one of my first goals...to continue that tradition of providing excellent public service to the community through the police department."

Lewis resides in Camarillo with Fran, his wife of 19 years. He has three children, Ashley, Jessica and Danny.

He also has a 3-year-old grandson, Colin.