The Blue Notebook - A Weekly SMPD Recap August 1-11, 2024

August 14, 2024 1:00 PM
by Erika Aklufi

08/01/2024-08/11/2024

National Night Out: We are thrilled to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated in this year's National Night Out. This annual community-building campaign promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. Your enthusiastic participation and support made this event a tremendous success. It was wonderful to see neighbors, families, and friends come together to strengthen our community bonds and foster a sense of unity. We hope to see you all back again next year!
This week, the Chief, Command Staff, and our SMART Center team met with a field representative for the CA Board of State & Community Corrections (BSCC) Planning and Grant Programs who was at the station to conduct a site visit and evaluate our progress as we utilize our BSCC grant funding to build the department’s Real Time Crime Center.
The police department recently started publishing a version of this weekly recap on our website. It’s received a great deal of positive feedback with residents and other stakeholders appreciating additional information about the activity and service the police department provides to all who live, work and visit Santa Monica. You can find the most recent edition of The Blue Notebook here.

POLICE DEPARTMENT statistics for the week

Total Calls for Service (CFS): 2,725 this week. 76,509 YTD (through 8/3).

Source of calls:
- Citizen Initiated: 1,629 this week. 45,893 YTD (60% of total CFS).
- Officer Initiated: 1096 this week. 30,616 YTD (40% of total CFS).
- Disposition for CFS: Homeless related = 17% YTD.
- Encampment Calls: 41 this week. 935 YTD.
- 5150 Calls: 7 this week. 399 YTD.
- Arrests: 58 Total this week. 1,621 YTD.

Patrol Operations Division

Hate Crime – 3200 block of Pico Blvd. Unknown person(s) painted swastika symbols on the victim’s business sign. A report was taken and forwarded to the Criminal Investigation Division for follow up.
Sexual Assault/Robbery – 1500 Palisades Park. The homeless victim was forcefully grabbed and pulled into some bushes where he was sodomized and robbed of his belongings. A report was taken and forwarded to the Criminal Investigations Division for follow up. The suspect is believed to be homeless.
Assault with Deadly Weapon/Handgun – 00 block of Arcadia Terrace. The victim confronted the suspect, who was in the process of stealing a bike. As the suspect walked away, he pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the victim. The victim stopped following him and called the police. The suspect left prior to police arrival. A report was taken and forwarded to the Criminal Investigations Division for follow up.
Lewd Activity – 1700 block of Ocean Ave. A group of social media influencers known for setting up and catching child predators on YouTube contacted the police and advised them they had a suspect detained for attempting to contact a minor for sexual purposes. The suspect was arrested. A report was taken and forwarded to the Criminal Investigations Division for follow up.
Felony Warrant Arrest – 100 block of Pico. Officers stopped a subject for a Municipal Code violation and determined he had a felony vandalism warrant. The suspect was taken into custody without incident.
Domestic Violence – 1900 block of Ocean Way. The suspect (boyfriend) was engaged in a heated argument with the victim (girlfriend). During the argument, the suspect punched the victim. Officers took the suspect into custody without incident.
Assault with Deadly Weapon/Knife – 400 block of Colorado. Officers were flagged down regarding a suspect attempting to stab people with a knife. The suspect ran from the officers. After a short distance, the suspect was taken into custody. The knife was recovered at the scene.
Sexual Battery – 200 block of Broadway. Officers were in their patrol car at an intersection when they observed the suspect slap the buttocks of a female as she walked past him. Officers took the suspect into custody without incident. The suspect is homeless.
Commercial Burglary – 1400 Ocean Ave. The suspect made entry into the building and took items from within business. Officers responded and observed the suspect running away from the location. Officers caught up to the suspect and took him into custody. The suspect is homeless.

Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) Team

HLP Team stats for the week

562 Homeless related CFS (19% of total) / YTD is 12,787 Homeless related CFS (17% of total)
41 Total Encampment CFS (935 YTD) -this does not include 311 calls regarding encampments.

HLP Team Stats

98 - Calls for service
21 - 311 requests handled
86 - Self-initiated activity

1 - Felony arrest
64 - Field interviews/advisal’s
7 - Citations
83 - Referrals to services
10 - Encampments addressed

DMH/HLP Clinician Stats

3 - 5150 evaluations/mental health holds

Meetings and Collaborations

HLP Team members met with a sergeant, senior lead officer, and patrol officer from LAPD’s Pacific Division. The meeting established stronger lines of communication between the two entities, specifically to address encampment issues along Santa Monica’s southern border.

Notable Events

- On 8/1/2024 HLP Team members, West Coast Care and Salvation army conducted a livability operation on the beach area north of the Pier (1500-1200 blocks). Multiple subjects were contacted, advised of violations, referred to either Project Homecoming and connected to local city resources.
- On 8/2/2024, HLP Team members performed checks of the south beach area bordering Venice for active encampments and tents. Several contacts were made and three written advisals were issued. Each contact was advised of the municipal code violations and educated on the resources available to them in the city.
- On 8/7/2024, HLP Team Officers observed a large, abandoned collection of trash on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Euclid. The HOST Team was contacted and within the hour the trash was removed, and the area cleaned.
- On 8/8/2024 HLP Team members contacted a subject who was in an encampment on the sidewalk by Main and Colorado. The encampment was preventing pedestrian movement on the sidewalk. The subject was unwilling to provide her name and she was subsequently detained for blocking the sidewalk. A department fingerprint reader was utilized which revealed her name. A criminal records check revealed she had a warrant for public camping. The subject was arrested for public camping, blocking the sidewalk, and delaying a peace officer. During a search incident to arrest it was discovered the subject had a meth pipe in her possession. The subject was arrested for the above violations and subsequently placed on a mental health hold (a “5150 hold”) by the department’s DMH Clinician partner. The subject was transported to a Downtown medical center.
- On 8/8/2024, HLP Team Officers received an email from a local business owner of the ‘Palms and Paws’ veterinary center. The owner was requesting help with a subject who had been camped in their alley for over a week. HLP Officers contacted the subject and offered resources, unfortunately he refused them. The subject was ultimately issued a citation and he agreed to take his property and leave the location. The remaining trash left by the subject was disposed of by the Mariposa team. Other business owners in the alley expressed their gratitude for the work that was performed.

Community Affairs Unit (CAU)

Community Affairs Unit

Beat 1

The Beat 1 Neighborhood Resource Officer received a complaint from Red O restaurant on Ocean Avenue. The manager from the location advised that a vendor was selling t-shirts in front of the restaurant and harassing customers. The vendor was identified and the NRO advised the Red O manager of steps to take in the future should the vendor return. NROs have been conducting extra patrols in the area.
The Beat 1 NRO and Crime Prevention Coordinator (CPC) attended a Community Corp Santa Monica (CCSM) walk-through at a building on Lincoln Blvd. The purpose of the walk thru was to identify any security concerns for the building. During the walk-through some issues were observed. The CPC will forward the information to CCSM and assist with solutions.

Beat 2

The Beat 2 NRO and CPC attended a Neighborhood Watch Meeting for residents living on the 2100 block of Marine Street to address general complaints involving catalytic converter thefts, residential burglaries and general safety. Crime statistics were shared, and questions answered.
The Beat 2 NRO and CPC attended a Neighborhood Watch Meeting for residents living at the 1300 block of Grant Street. Most complaints revolved around homelessness, vehicle burglaries / thefts and asked about resources available to residents. Residents were very appreciative and inquired if meetings could be conducted on a regular basis.
The Beat 2 and Beat 3 NROs met with residents in a multi-unit apartment complex on Pico Blvd. They complained of children being loud and being disruptive. They were referred to the Community Corp SM administrator to file complaints on other tenants. They were also instructed to call police dispatch (emergency and non-emergency) regarding any confrontations with any tenants.

Beat 3

The Beat 3 NRO received a request from a synagogue asking for assistance in August with the transportation of their Torah due to security concerns. Community Affairs will be assisting with traffic control for the two-block escort.
NRO Galvan spoke with a resident in the 1400 block of Princeton regarding a subject on a dirt bike speeding and doing wheelies up and down the street. The resident was asked to call dispatch when this occurs, and NRO’s will be completing periodic checks in the area.
NRO Galvan received a complaint from residents in the 1200 block of 17th St. regarding trash left on their private property from a transient. The residents were told the city cannot remove trash from private property and they could dispose of the trash however they felt appropriate. NROs will be checking with Code Enforcement to see if anything further can be done.

Beat 4

The Beat 4 NRO handled a reoccurring issue around 7th Street and Arizona Avenue of suspicious subjects seen walking by a residence. One subject appears to drop an unknown item in front of the yard. The NRO was unable to find any evidence of a crime.
The Beat 4 NRO trained two new hires for a segment in the New Hire Orientation explaining the roles of NROs and Community Affairs.

Authored By

Erika Aklufi
Lieutenant