By Jorge Casuso

February 24, 2026 -- The Santa Monica Police Department has averaged more than 110 weekly arrests over a one-month stretch this year, a pace that if sustained would shatter recent annual records.

The 438 arrests made between January 9 and February 7, the latest data available, amount to an average of 110 arrests per week, based on crime date posted on the Department's weekly blog The Blue Notebook.

That is double the 54 average arrests per week made in 2024, according to the latest annual report issued by the Police Department last June.

The dramatic increase in the number of arrests reflects "a sustained emphasis on proactive, officer-initiated enforcement in high-activity corridors," according to the latest posting of SMPD's blog for the week of February 1.

The "high activity corridors" include Downtown, Palisades Park, Ocean Front Walk and the Pico Neighborhood, according to the weekly blog post.

"A significant portion of the over 100 arrests this week stemmed from warrant compliance, parole and probation violations, weapons offenses, and repeat offenders identified during directed patrol operations."

After Police Chief Darrick Jacob took over the Department on a permanent basis in mid-December, arrests have jumped dramatically, according to the latest data.

The Department has made 536 arrests so far this year, compared to 319 during the same period in 2025, an increase of 68 percent.

The jump is in part due to an increase in the number of arrests involving homeless individuals. This year, the homeless accounted for some 75 percent of the arrests, compared to 60 percent of the arrests in 2024.

"Homelessness response efforts balanced outreach, mental health coordination, and municipal code enforcement across parks, freeway underpasses, Downtown, and beach areas," according to the latest blog post.

"Directed deployments focused on repeat encampment locations and individuals with prior advisals, while Department of Mental Health partners conducted evaluations and facilitated hospitalizations when appropriate."

If sustained throughout the year, the total number of arrests would easily surpass the 3,840 arrests made in 2019, before the coronavirus shutdown saw the number plummet to 1,538 in 2020.

The number of arrests slowly increased over the next four years, inching up to 1,599 in 2021, before rising to 2,438 in 2022, to 2,723 in 2023 and to 2,802 in 2024.

The current rate of 110 weekly arrests would, if sustained, result in some 5,700 arrests this year, a nearly 50 percent increase over the peak number of arrests made in 2019.