The Ventura Police Department (VPD) and LexisNexis Risk Solutions have recently partnered to provide a new way for the community to stay informed about crime in the City of Ventura. The Ventura Police Department now has an online crime map called Community Crime Map designed to alert the public about recent crime activity in their area and improve communications.

“Implementing a public and interactive crime map allows us to be more transparent with our community about crime occurring in each neighborhood,” said Commander Rick Murray. “It’s important for residents to be aware of activity in their area so they are able to take action and stay safe; Community Crime Map will help them do so.”

Ventura residents can view a map that shows all of the reported crimes in their area, sign up for neighborhood watch reports that breakdown recent crime activity near their home, school, or other places of interest, and can submit tips to the Department through an anonymous tipping feature. These special features make it even easier to access near real-time information.

Community Crime Map empowers Ventura residents to make better decisions about crime, by putting the same technology used by the Ventura Police to analyze and interpret crime activity, into the hands of the community it affects so they can make informed decisions about how to stay safe.

Community Crime Map automatically syncs with the Department’s records system to keep crime information updated and accurate online. The data is geocoded and cleaned to protect victim privacy, and all data secure and confidential. All incidents are then displayed on a map, grid, and analytics dashboard along with some basic information about each incident, including the type of crime, location type, block-level address, date, and time.

Check out the Community Crime Map at https://www.cityofventura.ca.gov/1052/Arrest-Log-Interactive-Crime-Map

The theme of this year’s State of the City is “Focus on Recovery: Rising above a Pandemic in Ventura”. We are now 6 months into this pandemic, and all of our lives have been impacted in immeasurable ways. I hear story after story of the personal ways COVID-19 has impacted so many individuals, families and businesses in our community, and it breaks my heart – because so many of our friends and our family are struggling right now.

And I can only hope that through this despair, we find opportunities for progress and improvement. I am someone who always looks for the silver lining in difficult situations, and I believe that despite the challenges we are facing today, we can find opportunities to create a more prosperous tomorrow.

I hope many of you come to share my belief that although it has been an incredibly tough year for the City, we are well positioned for an effective recovery, and more importantly, the groundwork has been laid for future success in 2021 and beyond.

City Facilities have now been closed for close to 6 months, our commitment to serving the community and its residents hasn’t stopped. When COVID-19 hit, the City quickly transitioned operations to re-imagine City services in order to support online services for residents and businesses. The City isn’t satisfied with simply providing the same service as before, we are seeking to be better. We have aimed to improve operations, and to close service and technology gaps.

We initially struggled – the transition to digital, to moving all of our operations online was difficult and there were hiccups and delays. And I know this stressed the patience of many in our community. But we persevered. We fast tracked, we went online, we streamlined, and we accomplished all of this with a staff largely working from home. And although there were definite problems in the first months after COVID forced the City to completely change the way it did business, I believe the system we currently have in place will serve us incredibly well as we transition from recovery to future successes.

In the last 27 weeks, the City Council has had 23 council meetings, there have been 47 Boards, Commissions & Committee Meetings, and there have been numerous Administrative Hearings held by our planning department. The bottom line is that the people’s business has continued, and the City has taken extensive steps to keep important projects moving forward by adjusting our process to meet the needs of our new COVID realities.

Our crime rates are at a 20-year low thanks to the courageous and proactive work of the brave men and women who serve as our police officers. Our firefighters respond to close to 18,000 calls a year, and work around the clock to protect us. Our Public Works department continues to repair close to 50 miles of roads and sidewalks every year. Our Parks department maintains the City’s 30 parks and ensures we have access to safe and clean outdoor space. I take immense pride in the hard work of each and every City employee, and I know they are all committed to improving the quality of life here in Ventura.

It is hard to believe my 4 years on the City Council is coming to an end. For a hometown kid, it truly has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as Ventura’s Mayor. We endured so much as a City the past 4 years, from the Thomas Fire to the COVID pandemic. But we have always remained Ventura Strong, and my faith in this City and its people has never been stronger.

“I’ve been honored to have served both as Deputy Mayor and as Mayor.”

by Carol Leish

The City of Ventura and the County of Ventura have been improved with the dedicated service of Cheryl Heitmann for many years. She was involved with the Board of the Ventura County Community College District. She has also been involved on the City of Ventura City Council. This included having served as both Deputy Mayor and Mayor.

Heitmann, who has a Masters Degree in Social Work, and is a licensed Clinical Social Worker, was in private practice for 25 years. She has also worked as a probation officer, psychiatric social worker in a hospital setting, and with children in a group setting.

Besides her work as a clinical social worker, Heitmann co-owned a political consulting and fundraising group for 20 years. She also served as the executive director of the Ventura Music Festival for 7 years.

In 2002, when she heard that the Ventura County Community College District was going through challenging times, and also had no women on the board in 20 years, Heitmann realized that, ‘Getting involved on the board was something for me to consider doing since I’ve always been passionate about good pubic education. The incumbent was not running for re-election. After I got encouragement from others, along with having my own strong belief that women needed to become more involved in the political process as candidates, I decided to run.”

While serving on the Ventura City Council, Heitmann said that, ‘I’ve been honored to have served both as Deputy Mayor and as Mayor.” During her time on the City Council she has represented the city on the Economic Development Collaborative, in which she has served 4 years on the board, which included one year as the Chair. She also has served 3 years on the Gold Coast Transit District Board, in which she was the chair for her last year. She said, ‘On Council I was able to restart the Economic Development subcommittee, producing a 5-year ED strategy. I also currently serve on the school liaison committee; the homeless subcommittee; financial committee; and, the legislative committee. In addition, I currently serve on the economic development and housing committee for the National League of Cities. By serving on all of these regional and national committees, it is/has been important for the city to be able to have a seat at the table when policies are being drafted.”

“When serving as Ventura’s only third woman Mayor,” Heitmann said, “I was especially proud to have started the city’s first sister city program with Loreto, Mexico. I was also proud to have established the Ventura Council for Seniors to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our seniors which included completing a senior strategic plan. I also spearheaded the downtown Ambassador program with the support of the Downtown Ventura Partners.”

Heitmann continued by saying, “I chaired the 150th anniversary committee to plan and execute the exciting celebration of our 150 years as a city. Since, in government, many ideas and projects take several years to complete, the Veterans Home Project is especially dear to me. It will include 122 new apartments for homeless Veterans and low-income Veteran families. I brought this project forward while serving as Mayor, and it has been continuing to inch forward. Now, it is very close to putting the first shovel in the ground for the groundbreaking.”

“Serving on the city council has been an incredible experience and one that I am glad to have had. The rewards are that I have had the feeling that I have been able to contribute to bettering the quality of life in the city I love,” according to, Heitmann. “And, just as important, I’ve had the chance to meet and work with so many wonderful people, both city staff, city partners, and community members.”

Ventura would like to thank Cheryl Heitmann for her many years, since 2002, of dedicated service to the community. Ventura has become a better place from your dedicated service.

Dowell award winners with Ventura Police officers.

The Ventura Police Officers’ Association (VPOA) is pleased to present three scholarships to high achieving local Ventura students as the award recipients of the 17th annual Dee Dowell Memorial Scholarship.

“There is no greater honor than to be in public service,” said Officer Joseph Metz, President of the VPOA. “We are thrilled to play just a minor role in the future success of Ventura’s youth and our community.”

The first-place scholarship of $2,000 is awarded to Bailey Welch. Bailey is 17-years-old and will be attending Ventura College to pursue a course of study in Nursing. The second-place scholarship of $1,500 is awarded to Tara Martin. Tara is 19-years-old and will be attending the University of Arizona to pursue a course of study in Early Child Education. Finally, our third-place scholarship of $1,000 is awarded to Kali Garibay. Kali is 19-years-old. She is currently attending the University of Southern California and intends to continue her studies in Law History and Culture.

Each young scholar was selected after displaying remarkable academic achievement, school and community service, and financial need. Additionally, each applicant must submit an essay on “Service, what it means to me,” submit a letter of recommendation from a public servant, be a Ventura resident or have graduated from a high school in Ventura within the past three years, and plan a course of study related to the field of public service.

The VPOA thanks all applicants and congratulates the 2020 winners of the Dee Dowell Memorial Scholarship!

The annual Dee Dowell Memorial Scholarship program honors Sergeant Darlon “Dee” Dowell, who was shot and killed on August 7, 1978. Sergeant Dowell is the only officer in Ventura’s history to die in the line of duty.