Standing on the Third Street Promenade after dark these days may leave shoppers and residents experiencing a “Vanilla Sky” moment. In the Cameron Crowe film, Tom Cruise’s character awakens to a New York City devoid of people, famously sprinting through an eerie Times Square that has been abandoned, conspicuous for what it is missing.

One may find themselves in a similar state these days on Third Street or Main Street or Montana Avenue — the city’s most high-profile shopping districts — where the pervading calm and security are only noteworthy in comparison to their makeups just one month ago.

Absent are the majority of the homeless, at least from plain sight. In their stead, pedestrian benches are occupied by shoppers looking for respite, or passersby taking in a street performer. Panhandlers are fewer and farther between.

Understandably, city officials are reluctant to acknowledge that there is a homeless sweep afoot, but anyone who has lived, shopped or dined here in recent years can see a dramatic change. Something’s going on.

The police department’s deployment of additional patrols in the most frequented shopping districts, beginning Oct. 1, seems a little too coincidental given that it also marked the first day of Interim Police Chief Mark Smiley’s month-long stint at the helm.

This week, Smiley said the extra police presence was “an annual deployment,” albeit one that typically begins a month later to ensure a safe holiday shopping season. Since when did Oct. 1 usher in the commercial holiday push?

Smiley also attributed the beefed up force as a necessity in light of the warmer weather, which has prompted more shoppers to flock to the promenade and other city shopping districts. However, the Accu-Weather five-day forecast is calling for intermittent showers and temperatures not to exceed 70 degrees.

Whatever the reasons, it’s plain for all to see that the police department is making an extra effort to bolster security at the most frequented areas of Santa Monica, for tourists and residents alike. Whether or not this is Interim Chief Smiley’s attempt to assure City Manager Lamont Ewell that he’s the right man for the job on a permanent basis, or if it’s an internal directive, it has made an impression on the city populace.

However, the chief best watch that Santa Monica doesn’t come to resemble a “police state,” a remark overheard more than once on heavily-patrolled Third Street. It’s a delicate balance the next chief may have to straddle.

Coincidental or not, there is a buzz about town recognizing the altered appearance of the city. Residents are taking notice, while new transplants are asking where all the homeless have gone.

While “Vanilla Sky” may not have attributed the missing population to an increased police force, Cruise’s character did eventually awaken from what was only a protracted dream state. We, on the other hand, are mired in reality, with real issues that have no easy answers.