Beach patrol keeps Malibu shores in order
By Sylvie Belmond/Special to The Malibu Times
The annual summer beach rush began without fail this weekend as crowds of visitors flocked to Malibu for the holiday weekend. To set a law-abiding tone, the Malibu Beach Patrol Team was also out in force.
But, despite the crowds, the weekend went very well, said L.A. County Sheriff’s Sgt. Cally Barrier. The patrol issued about 100 alcohol-related citations but people were generally well behaved, she said.
The beach team starts off the Memorial Day weekend with a show of force because it discourages bad behavior near the ocean for the rest of the season. This beach enforcement method began in the ’70s before Malibu was incorporated.
As she spoke about this approach, Barrier, who leads the beach team this year, highlighted a situation that happened in the past.
“We noticed some gang-type-looking people coming to the beach on Memorial Day weekend and that beach got crowded, so they tried to commandeer the parking lot as they had members of their group keeping spaces [open] and intimidating people to leave,” she illustrated.
“So we had the horses, the helicopter and quad runners with car patrols come to show them how we were going to run the beach for the summer. That set the tone,” she said, noting that while everyone is welcome to the beach, they have to behave themselves.
The beach team is working on strategies and implementation measures to synchronize the response with several local agencies, businesses and the City of Malibu.
At a recent meeting, the beach team, composed of eight sworn deputies and one sergeant, discussed the logistics of beach enforcement with L.A. County animal control, county lifeguards, a horse posse, local tow truck companies and the city.
Two traffic units will also assist the team, and sheriff’s reserves usually donate their time to help with the beach enforcement operations in Malibu.
While the reserves work when they can, three or four deputies help the team on a consistent basis. However, reserves are required to work a certain number of hours and many of them choose to work the beach team rather than patrol in a regular patrol car, said Lt. Steve van Herpe, who is the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department liaison for Malibu.
To select candidates fairly, the Sheriff’s Department has established a selection process that looks, among other things, at a deputy’s overall job performance.
But there are pros and cons to the assignment.
“It’s a fun job and a great assignment,” Van Herpe said, “but you work every single weekend and every holiday.”
Therefore, the deputies won’t work on the team for more than one or two years, and the patrol is often composed of a mixture of returning and newly assigned deputies every year.
Barrier explained that the team patrols all the public beaches throughout the L.A. County-Malibu coastline, but it spends a majority of its time at Zuma Beach because that is the most crowded public beach in the area.
While they are on the job, the deputies usually ride on quad runners and observe the behavior of beachgoers. The primary infraction they encounter is consumption of alcohol on the beach.
The penalty for this offense has changed from a misdemeanor to an infraction, so that offenders do not have to appear in court. But the fine has increased from $75 to $100 for the first incident.
Public nudity and dogs on the beach are a close second as far as beach violations.
“It’s actually illegal, even for residents, to walk their dogs on the beach unless they own the beach,” Barrier said.
Generally, the beach team only patrols public beaches.
“We only answer calls for private beach dog infractions when there is a complaint,” Barrier explained.
The penalty for having a dog on the beach is a fine. However, the fine can have a number of items attached to it. If the dog is not licensed, the owner does not carry a pooper-scooper or the dog is off leash, the penalty can increase.
Barrier said, laughing, that sometimes when the beach patrol catches someone walking their dog on the beach without a pooper-scooper or a plastic bag, the dog owners say they use their shirt to pick up the poop.
“Personal clothing is excluded,” she said.
According to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Web site, the Beach Patrol Team is a combined taskforce of regular and reserve deputies that keeps the Malibu beaches a safe place to visit for recreation. It implements a zero tolerance for alcohol, drug and gang activities.
But the cost of beach law enforcement, paid for by the City of Malibu, is usually offset by the income generated by the team, as Malibu gets a percentage of the citation fees it issues. Moreover, the city also receives a 10 percent tax from public beach vehicle parking fees and a percentage of parking violation fines.