By Jorge Casuso

December 30, 2025 -- Santa Monica police made more than 70 arrests in one week during the holiday season and another 22 arrests during a one-day operation the Friday before Christmas.

The arrests come as calls for service have dropped this year and arrests have risen sharply, according to SMPD data.

During the week of December 7, police officers made 74 arrests as the Police Department beefed up high-visibility patrols and launched targeted operations," police officials said.

The holiday deployment strategy targeted "key commercial areas, parks, and visitor corridors while maintaining citywide service coverage," according to the latest edition of SMPD's The Blue Notebook.

Of the 74 arrests, 56 were of homeless individuals, or 41 percent, and 11 individuals were detained who were deemed a danger to themselves or others due to a mental health disorder.

The 585 homelessness-related calls for service made up 22 percent of all calls, according to the data. During the week, 19 homeless encampents were cleared.

The service calls were among the 118,508 calls made through December 13, a 4.1 percent drop from last year. During the same period, there have been 3,236 arrests, a 21.2 percent increase over last year.

The operations conducted during the week of December 7 included an "organized retail theft (ORT)" operation Downtown that led to 8 felony arrests, 2 misdemeanor arrests, 9 pedestrian stops and 3 traffic stops, police reported.

"Following intelligence on potential ORT activity at Lululemon officers recovered approximately $7,000 in stolen merchandise," according to The Blue Notebook.

"The investigation revealed the suspects targeted Lululemon and Alo locations in Santa Monica and Century City and had traveled through multiple states committing similar thefts. The Investigation remains ongoing."

The following week, a "Community Livability Operation was conducted on Friday, November 19, that included 55 members of the Police Department, 19 staff members from Public Works and 3 members of the Fire Department, among others, according to Councilmember Lana Negrete.

The operation, the former mayor wrote in her December 22 newsletter, was "one of the most comprehensive quality-of-life operations in recent memory.

"This wasn't a single department acting alone -- this was the gold standard for how complex livability and homelessness issues should be addressed in a modern city."

The operation resulted in 22 arrests and jail bookings, 16 field citations for municipal code violations and drug evaluations that confirmed 11 individuals were under the influence.

The charges included "being under the influence, park closures, public camping, bench warrants, drug offenses, failure to register (as a sex offender), resisting arrest (and) battery on a Police Officer," Negrete wrote.

Public Works filled 14 truckloads with 13.42 tons, or 26,840 pounds, of trash and debris removed.

During the operation, outreach efforts led to 6 individuals agreeing to sit with service providers and 2 to connect with services when they were released.