Santa Monica city leaders consider potential beach curfew

The Santa Monica city leaders urged their staff to explore how to implement a curfew along its beaches. 

During a City Council meeting earlier this week, Mayor Lana Negrete said the potential move was for public safety, citing late-night crimes that happened in the past two years. 

"I think in light of the last 24 months," Negrete said. "We've had everything from murders, rapes and even accidental deaths. 

In February, a woman was found inside of a sleeping bag after being beaten to death in February. City beach personnel found her body near a lifeguard tower just north of the Santa Monica Pier. In October 2024, a driver ran over a woman while driving in circles on the beach. 

The mayor and other council members highlighted other examples of people sleeping on the beach who maintenance crews ran over accidentally. 

"Nothing good happens after midnight," Negrete said. 

While no formal curfew has been proposed, only a request for options, other coastal cities like Huntington Beach already enforce nighttime rules. Similar efforts in Santa Monica were blocked in the past. 

The council stressed that any new policy would have to thread the needle, targeting hot spots like the pier while avoiding blanket restrictions. City staff will take that into account and come back with recommendations.