Santa Monica is reportedly one of the least safe cities in California, according to a new survey.
While violent crime and property crime have allegedly dropped in the city of Santa Monica, the international tourist hotspot now ranks with Oakland, San Bernardino, and Compton as one of the least safe cities in the Golden State, NBC reported. The survey was conducted by Safewise, an organization that uses FBI crime statistics to rank cities and then control for population thresholds, according to their website.
Out of 230 cities in California (least safest cities)
Compton 225
Santa Monica 224
Culver City 220
West Hollywood 212
Beverly Hills 204
Los Angeles 200George Gascón announcing all the crimes he wasn’t going to prosecute day 1 didn’t make us safer. https://t.co/Eefx3Tt4c2
— jonathanhatami (@jonathanhatami) April 5, 2022
The survey found that California’s violent crime rate has stayed steady between 2021 and 2022, which may have led to the reported “higher-than-average” levels of concern felt within California’s population, the survey noted. Citizens of California provided higher reports of personal experiences with violent crime, gun violence, and package theft, according to the survey.
“California reported the third-highest number of mass shootings in 2021, recording 46 incidents, an 18% increase over 2020,” the survey authors stated. (RELATED: Beverly Hills Gun Store Owner Says Rich And Famous Are Coming In Droves, Arming Themselves For The First Time)
Santa Monica has a relatively small population of 93,000 residents, but receives upwards of 250,000 visitors on an average day, according to the City of Santa Monica official website. Santa Monica Police Department reportedly spoke to Safewise about their metrics. The survey organization allegedly indicated that they do not take daily commuter and tourism metrics.
“It’s humiliating,” long-term resident Janet McLaughlin told CBS News. “Terrible, That’s why we have a group called Santa Monicans Against Crime. We’ve been trying to get the word out. I feel really bad for people who don’t know, like tourists. That’s not the Santa Monica we all knew and loved. We still love it but we want it to be safer.”
“Everyone is in a constant state of alertness and nervousness, it seems,” Santa Monica City Councilman Phil Brock told CBS. “Everybody’s looking over their shoulder.” Brock is reportedly working with other officials throughout the city to improve safety, and wants to increase police presence, neighborhood watch groups, and make a stronger effort to keep people off the streets.