Oak Park officials upset at high cost of volunteer police patrol

Oak Park's Municipal Advisory Council wasn't expecting to crack the safe to finance an increase in public safety.

Almost a year ago, council members began looking at the possibility of increasing police presence by forming a partnership with the city of Thousand Oaks' Volunteer in Policing program.

Oak Park, an unincorporated area of Ventura County, contracts with the county sheriff's department for police services.

While one patrol car is always assigned to Oak Park, the council wanted to gain a greater police presence by acquiring from Thousand Oaks a Volunteer in Policing patrol car, staffed by two volunteers, for three nights each week.

The council originally projected the cost of the program at $28,000, but was surprised when Thousand Oaks asked for $45,130 for a single volunteer patrol car.

Even though the patrollers are volunteers, Thousand Oaks justified the high cost by asserting it needed $23,690 to cover administrative expenses and $21,440 to pay for the maintenance of the vehicle.

Oak Park is considered a safe area with a low crime rate, but a recent domestic dispute that ended in a suicide has caused residents to question whether police respond quickly enough.

In April, Rick Thompson, 36, assaulted and severely beat his wife before ending his own life.

Even though deputies were able to escort the woman and her 2-year-old son to safety, many neighbors voiced concerns to the council about the time it took deputies to arrive at the scene.

Though a patrol car is assigned to Oak Park at all hours, the area may not have a deputy on hand during shift changes, according to officials.

While the preliminary planning stages for the Volunteer in Policing program began before the death in April, council members hoped that an added police presence would help to stem residents' concerns.

Volunteers in Policing are not allowed to place themselves in harm's way, but are able to notify deputies of problematic situations they see developing.

Council members are also investigating the possibility of contracting with the sheriff's department for more deputies, but a department-wide shortage of deputies means that additional patrols can't be procured at present.