Manhattan Beach Police Release August Crime Report, Communications Protocols
Sep 29, 2023 12:17PM ● By Jeanne Fratello
Manhattan Beach Police investigate an illegally parked vehicle in August. The driver and passenger were arrested for outstanding warrants and weapons violations. Photo via MBPD.
What's up with crime in Manhattan Beach? As the Manhattan Beach Police Department continues to refine its communications protocols, crime appears to have begun to drop after hitting an expected summer increase.
Manhattan Beach Crime Report for August
As predicted, police activity in Manhattan Beach went up during the summer months, although August showed slight declines over July - despite two major volleyball events in town.
MBPD's monthly crime report for August showed 3,559 calls for service (1,701 dispatched calls for service and 1,858 officer-initiated contacts).
There were 85 arrests made and 166 Group A crime reports. (Group A crime reports include crimes against persons such as assault, crimes against property such as burglary, and crimes against society such as weapons violations - but do not include DUIs or municipal code violations.)
These numbers are down from July, which had 3,765 calls for service (1,918 dispatched calls for service and 1,874 officer-initiated contacts). July also had 77 arrests and 187 Group A crimes.
Moreover, during the month of August, in contrast to July, instances of auto theft (-4), commercial burglary (-1), larceny (-16), residential burglary (-5), and robbery (-3) went down.
Meanwhile, reports of criminal activities such as assaults (+5) and vehicular burglaries (+3) displayed increases in August over July.
There were no cases of arson, homicide, or sexual offenses.
The August report reflects the fifth monthly report released since the department began releasing the reports in April.
Police Communication Protocols Clarified
Responding to general public demand - and a specific crime reporting issue over the summer - the Manhattan Beach Police Department
has also spelled out its internal communication protocols in a new
departmental memo (Standing Order 23-01)(See Agenda Item 16 on the City Council agenda for the full document).
The new memo spells out "notable incidents" that need to be reported, as well as the chain of command for reporting them.
Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rachel Johnson added that the department will periodically review Standing Order 23-01 to align with emerging priorities and community concerns. "The weekly and monthly updates will continue to evolve to make sure the public has the information they need," said Johnson. "I realize this is an area of continuous growth for us to ensure that we remain timely and relevant."
Since the beginning of summer, the Manhattan Beach Police
Department has responded to 10,719 dispatched calls for service and
generated another 13,763 calls through proactive police work - averaging
101 calls for service each day, Johnson told City Council members at last week's meeting.
"Most
of these calls are routine police work but sometimes our response to
these events generates community concern because we show up with lights,
sirens, and lots of police cars," she said. "We try to bridge the gap
between events not meeting criteria for notification - but are still noteworthy based on the size of the response - with press
releases and social media posts."
Security Cameras To Be Installed at City Properties
Meanwhile, the Manhattan Beach City Council last week approved a $523,820 contract with BlueViolet Networks for its Citywide Security Cameras Project - an effort begun in 2019.
That newly approved contract would establish cameras at city properties beginning with Phase 1 (28 cameras at City Hall and 17 cameras at the Public Works Yard) and Phase 2 (53 cameras at the Manhattan Beach Police Station and Fire Station No. 1). Construction will begin in November and be completed in June 2024.
Bids will go out in July 2024 for Phase 3, which would cover Joslyn Center, Live Oak Park, and Manhattan Heights.
All of the sites will have the capacity to record and store 366 days of storage, according to city staff.
Responding to councilmembers' questions about why the cameras were not being installed in more public locations, staff members explained that this first part has been in the planning stages since before the COVID pandemic and is ready to go online now.
"This project had started before the need for these public facing cameras was identified," said City Manager Bruce Moe. "Since this had already started, we're able to implement this and have a
basis and common platform for other locations, and those [other public locations] can happen more
quickly. We want to get this started while planning for other locations."
Nevertheless, Councilmember Steve Napolitano said that current events demanded that they focus on public facing cameras sooner
rather than later. "We need to find a way, whatever that is, to say start
looking as to where to put those [public] cameras and get those going," he said.
The city has budgeted $4 million for security cameras citywide over the next five years.
