Crime Rate Rises in Malibu While Parking Enforcement Skyrockets

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Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriffs

A January 2020 Malibu Public Safety Commission Agenda Report from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department indicated crime in Malibu had increased by 12.7 percent over the first 11 months of 2019 compared to 2018.

The latest 2019 crime statistics in Malibu were published on Dec. 17; a report summarizing the crime rate for the month of December was not available before The Malibu Times went to print.

While crime was up, so was enforcement, with a total of 30,879 traffic citations given out as of Nov. 30 compared to 22,318 as of the same date in 2018—a 38.3 percent increase.

The year-to-date crime statistics up to November showed a total of 434 crimes reported. There were 39 residential burglaries, five armed robberies and 11 strong-armed robberies. There were 14 assaults as of the end of November, compared to 19 in the previous year.

The most significant change was a sharp uptick in locked vehicle burglaries in the first 11 months of 2019 with 145, compared to 2018’s 11-month total of 114. 

In contrast, the total of 38 reported thefts from unlocked vehicles was on target to match last year’s total, which was also 38 as of the end of November.

Including the recent business burglaries The Malibu Times has reported this year, there were 28 business burglaries in the 2019 reports.

Traffic enforcement skyrocketed compared to this time in 2018.

As of the end of November, LASD officers had written a total of 30,879 traffic citations within the city of Malibu—up more than 8,500 over last year’s year-to-date total of 22,318. That makes an increase of 38.3 percent, year-over-last. The majority of that uptick is contained in parking violations, which went from nearly 15,000 in the first 11 months of 2018 to 22,328 through November 2019—up almost 50 percent. 

Pedestrian deaths in traffic collisions held steady at one by this time each year, but overall traffic collisions dipped slightly in 2019, with 348 compared to 357 by the end of November 2018.

These numbers will be discussed at an upcoming Malibu Public Safety Commission meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 5 p.m. at Malibu City Hall.