The Daily Santa Monica Crime and Drug Video - December 19, 2024

Santa Monica's City Council thinks the city is just fine. One councilmember called the homeless residents our neighbors, their wants and desires equivalent to those of people who pay rent and pay taxes. The 'freedom' of some, most of whom suffer from drug addiction and mental illness, to live in filth, disease and to commit crimes with impunity, is valued over the ability of the rest of society to live healthy lives in law and order.

Watch the videos shot and distributed by the Santa Monica Coalition, a different one each day, to see what is actually happening in a city that is no longer a magnet for tourists and shoppers.

The Santa Monica Coalition is a movement comprised of Santa Monica residents, business owners, and locals that addresses the humanitarian crisis, public safety concerns, the rising crime, and the current lack of responsiveness from the City of Santa Monica.November 6 2024 Santa Monica Coalition

December 19 2024 Santa Monica Coalition Mini Documentary

Tour bus drivers in Santa Monica discuss the decline in tourism and occupancy rates in hotels throughout the city. Many tour buses no longer stop in Santa Monica, and just drive through.

Drivers say their passengers are shocked by the open camping and drug use in parks and public spaces they see during the day, and do not feel safe stopping and walking. Restaurants and retail businesses suffer as a result. Residents suffer because sales and hotel tax revenues have dramatically declined during the last 18 months, and affect Santa Monica's General Fund. Hotel owners, managers and restaurant owners spoke before the City Manager, Mayor and City Council last year. They asked in part for more Police presence on a proactive, rather than reactive basis. The City responded by installing cameras around the building you see in the video, and fenced off several monuments in the parks. The problem has worsened.