Officer-initiated activity climbs to 53% of responses; year-to-date arrests up 72% over 2025
Santa Monica police responded to 2,652 calls for service and made 98 arrests during the week of May 31 through June 6, with officers initiating more than half of all activity, according to the department's weekly report to the City Council.
Officer-initiated contacts accounted for 1,394 of the week's responses — 53% of total activity and a 30.4% increase over the same period in 2025. Year-to-date, SMPD has made 2,281 arrests, a 71.8% jump compared to 1,328 arrests at the same point last year.
Among the week's more significant enforcement actions, a traffic stop on Ocean Avenue at Broadway led to the arrest of a driver on an outstanding forgery warrant. Officers conducting an inventory search of the vehicle recovered ketamine and approximately 30 forged documents, including driver's licenses and Social Security cards, and booked the suspect on charges of forgery, identity theft and narcotics possession.
On Bay Street, a traffic stop for vehicle code violations led to a consent search in which officers found a concealed, loaded firearm inside the vehicle. The driver was arrested.
A separate investigation on Ocean Front Walk resulted in the arrest of a subject who had been threatening others and making gestures as if armed. Officers additionally determined the suspect was in violation of sex offender registration requirements.
At a parking lot in the downtown area, Downtown Services Unit officers responded to a domestic violence call and arrested a suspect accused of placing a victim in a chokehold. On the 2500 block of Main Street, officers arrested a man for arson after he allegedly set fire to a shopping cart loaded with cardboard that had been positioned near a tree outside a business.
SMPD's Homeless Liaison Program handled 231 radio calls during the week, made 20 arrests, issued 43 citations and referred four individuals to the SAMO Bridge shelter. HLP officers contacted a subject on the 1300 block of Fifth Street for trespassing and determined he was on parole for carjacking and robbery, with a no-bail parole violation warrant out of Ventura County. On the 1800 block of Lincoln Boulevard, a separate HLP contact resulted in the recovery of a BB gun and methamphetamine.
The department also reported a homelessness outreach success: a subject who had repeatedly declined services while sleeping behind a Berkeley Street property ultimately accepted housing assistance after sustained engagement by HLP officers and a Department of Mental Health clinician.
HLP supervision participated in a meeting with the City Attorney's Office, Downtown Santa Monica Inc., the Block by Block ambassador program and representatives from multiple foreign consulates to discuss services for foreign nationals experiencing homelessness in the city.
Traffic enforcement produced 316 stops, 188 citations and 123 advisals for the week. Officers arrested two drivers on separate DUI charges and contacted a parolee at the 1550 Beach Lot whose parole search yielded narcotics and cannabis packaged for sale.
Community engagement activities included youth outreach at Virginia Park, an animal welfare career presentation at Olympic High School and a Sidewalk CPR demonstration on the Santa Monica Pier conducted jointly with Santa Monica Fire Department personnel.