Increase in complaints of lewd acts in Santa Monica park

(FOX 11) - Police officers are stepping up their patrols in parts of Santa Monica. The move coming after a number of alleged incidents at a Santa Monica park.

Not long after the sun goes up, more and more blankets, backpacks, and sleeping bags come out a Christine Emerson Reed Park in Santa Monica.

"There is a group of homeless that come here," said Brittany Lombari, who walks her dog nearby. "I feel like they think it's a safe place to be."

"It's gotten worse in the past year, year and a half," added Rubin Lopez, who works nearby.

Both said they don't fear for their safety, but Lopez admits a homeless man just tried breaking into his car last week.

"I said, "Dude, what are you doing in my car?'" Lopez said. "He said I'm cold, I'm just trying to get somewhere to stay." However, Lopez said the man was going through his glove compartment at the same time.

Other residents voice safety concerns after reports that a man exposed himself to a young boy in the park over the summer, and that two transients had sex in the bathroom just days ago.

"There are justifiable complaints," admitted a transient who didn't want to share his name. "There are justifiable complaints and some of these homeless people will tell you that."

However, he said most in the area, are law abiding. He said at the crux of the issue, there needs to be better understanding that not all homeless are the same.

"The community and us need to get together and talk," he said.

He also thinks part of the reason for the increase of transients in Santa Monica is due to the Metro Expo Line that transports from Los Angeles. He said now that he's in Santa Monica, he has no intentions of leaving.

"I like Santa Monica, love it," he said. "I don't want to leave. It's easier than a lot of other communities; plus, there's the ocean."