This month’s Santa Monica Pulse asked residents if they feel safe in Santa Monica, in light of a recent decline in crime incidents and an increase in arrests. 

The Pulse’s inaugural poll in 2021 asked residents if they felt that the city had made an effort to reduce crime. Just 4.2% of residents felt that the local government was making more of an effort to reduce crime. Now, five years later, over a third of residents in our latest poll (35.2%) feel that Santa Monica is somewhat or much safer. However, 62.6% of residents said that they feel the city is somewhat or much less safe, indicating that despite this progress, there remains work to be done. 

The Pulse also asked residents if they supported a plan by the Santa Monica City Council encouraging City employees to return to in-person work. 70.3% of respondents supported the City Council’s plan while just 14.3% opposed it. 15.4% had no opinion.