Every month, the Simi Valley Community Council gets together for lunch and networking. The council brings together representatives from all corners of Simi’s service community and acts as a forum to share experiences and upcoming events.

But during its April 14 meeting at Lost Canyons Golf Club, the council members also got the chance to hear from Chief of Police Mike Lewis and ask all their “burning questions,” as council president Nancy Lukunich put it.

The department will celebrate its 40th anniversary on July 1 and Lewis is approaching his own milestone, too, in September.

“I’m coming up on my fiveyear anniversary as your chief of police soon. Many said it couldn’t be done, but I’m still here,” he said with a smile.

In such a casual environment, speaking to about 30 members dining on salads and sandwiches, Lewis was more relaxed than usual and even a bit funny.

But he was still there to talk serious business and deliver the message of prevention he has been preaching since he assumed leadership of the department.

“I don’t hide what’s going on in the community,” he told the group. “I feel it’s very important that you be educated on what the crime is that’s taking place so that you can carry the word to other people and help us be proactive and stop crimes.”

The biggest issue is still property crimes—burglary, theft and auto theft—which make up 95 percent of the city’s crimes.

Half of these are thefts from vehicles, Lewis added. The top three items stolen from unlocked cars are laptops, GPS navigation systems and MP3 players.

But there is another crime trend residents need to look out for. The chief said organized groups from outside Simi are now targeting work trucks, such as those used by plumbing and electrical companies, and stealing the expensive equipment stowed inside.

“They’re going after all the electrical tools . . . and electronics and they’re ending up in swap meets down in L.A. County or down as far as Orange County,” he said.

Lewis encourages people with these types of trucks to park their vehicles indoors or to lock them in corporate parks where they can be secured.

Investigators do have a lead in the case of these thefts. Fortunately, a businessman that installs high-definition cameras on the exteriors of buildings used his own equipment on his house and captured video of his truck being burglarized at 3 a.m. The footage shows a single male who drove a black, Ford Excursion-type vehicle.

Another issue officers continue to deal with is the use of narcotics. Simi’s affluence can be deceiving, Lewis said, and the stereotypical image of an addict is not accurate in this community. In fact, many appear to be normal people holding down steady jobs.

“There is a certain segment of our population that are maintenance drug users,” Lewis said.

These people are using cocaine, prescription medicines or heroin, which the chief said is “back on the scene” since it is cheaper than cocaine.

Simi has also seen a surge in overdose deaths. While these can be attributed to users simply overloading their bodies with drugs, Lewis said the spike also stems from an increased purity in the drugs coming into the community.

A user may think he or she is taking a typical amount, but it ends up being a “hot shot,” as the chief called it, and causes an overdose.

Recently, police found a 22-year-old woman in the bathroom of a gas station, a needle still in her arm and her drug kit on the floor. However, Lewis said this scenario is more common in Los Angeles; most of Simi’s overdose victims are found at home.

One audience member asked the chief about gang activity. Lewis said gangs in Simi were at their pinnacle about seven or eight years ago. At that time the city applied for and received federal grants that were used to create the special problems section, which deals specifically with gangs and graffiti.

Though those funds have “dribbled off,” Lewis said, the unit still exists. SPS officers work with the schools and probation department to target known gangsters, but Lewis clarified that just because one sees a 16- year- old Hispanic male walking down the street with baggy pants and a backward cap doesn’t mean he’s in a gang.

Altogether, Simi has 34 to 38 “accredited, card carrying” gang members. Lewis added that Simi’s two recognized gangs tend to co-habitate relatively peacefully—clashes mostly occur with outside gangs.

“ I will tell you, we don’t have a problem these days. Do we have gangs? Yes. But we have a handle on it,” he said.

The department has a crime prevention unit, which organizes Neighborhood Watches and maintains free Business and Citizen Alert e-mail programs. The unit will even inspect residents’ homes and tell them where they may be vulnerable.

In addition, the department is harnessing technology to catch the bad guys, particularly thieves. For the past two years, officers have been utilizing sophisticated pole cameras that can see clearly day and night.

The department has several of these portable cameras, which are positioned wherever they are needed, such as in business districts like the auto dealerships on First Street. The images are sent via a wireless network to detectives’ computer screens back at the station, allowing them to watch multiple locations at once.

“ You can watch real time what’s going on and if we see something we can send in the black-and-white cavalry,” Lewis said. These cameras can give detectives a valuable investigative lead or help solve a case.

Another tool officers use are bait cars: nondescript vehicles in which detectives place enticing items. Like the cameras, these cars are parked in areas that are repeatedly victimized, like gym parking lots, trailheads and retail centers.

“You could call it fishing,” Lewis said. “We cast the line, see which criminal bites and then we reel them in.”

Lewis encouraged the residents that if they ever see something suspicious not to hesitate to call the police.

“ When in doubt, call the police department,” he said, adding, “When you call, we’re going to show up.”