March 9, 2018 -- With a string of violent crimes stoking community fear, Santa Monica Interim Police Chief Kenneth Semko on Thursday said major crime had risen 6 percent in the first two months of 2018, adding that police have been re-deployed to provide “an immediate” impact on both crime and the community’s “perception of safety.”

The 5.8 percent increase in crime in January and February is roughly equal to “one additional crime a day over last year,” when serious crime jumped 12.5 percent, Semko said in a message to the community posted on the City’s website.

“Troubling as these trends are to all of us in the Police Department, the number of annual crimes in Santa Monica remain well below historic rates of crime from 1965-2000,” he said.http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2018/March-2018/03_09_2018_Interim_Police_Chief_Says_Major_Crime_in_Santa_Monica_Up_but_Low_by_Historic_Standards.html