January 23, 2018 -- A new audit of City finances by an outside firm is posing again a longtime question: Is Santa Monica getting its money's worth for the high price of policing?

Although the Santa Monica Police Department had the largest operating budget among comparison cities, it had the lowest clearance rate for crimes, according to a draft report by Moss Adams, which was hired by the City to audit municipal services.

Santa Monica's police operating cost of $86,621,194 in the 2016-17 fiscal year was higher than the average of $60 million, with $932 spent per resident, compared with $554 on average for the peer cities, according to the audit.

During the same period, SMPD cleared 54 percent of its cases involving violent crime, compared to an average of 61 percent for comparison cities, and 9 percent for property crimes, compared to 23 percent.

Read More:   https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2018/January-2018/01_23_2018_Audit_Report_Finds_High_Santa_Monica_Police_Cost_Low_Clearance_Rate.html