Manhattan Beach crime: what police reported to the state
The Manhattan Beach Police Department reports crimes to the California Department of Justice each year, and the DOJ publishes them in its Crimes and Clearances file on OpenJustice. The table shows every year since 2017. Violent crime is homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Property crime is burglary, motor vehicle theft and larceny-theft, which includes shoplifting and theft from cars.
| Year | Violent crimes | Property crimes | Burglary | Motor vehicle theft | Larceny-theft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 71 | 875 | 179 | 71 | 625 |
| 2018 | 57 | 844 | 113 | 47 | 684 |
| 2019 | 55 | 851 | 160 | 43 | 648 |
| 2020 | 46 | 784 | 120 | 91 | 573 |
| 2021 | 51 | 881 | 158 | 116 | 607 |
| 2022 | 65 | 995 | 138 | 107 | 750 |
| 2023 | 84 | 924 | 114 | 75 | 735 |
| 2024 | 49 | 829 | 134 | 75 | 620 |
| 2025 | 40 | 727 | 96 | 60 | 571 |
Over the decade the counts have moved in a narrow band. Property crime was 947 in 2015 and 1,030 in 2016, the high point of the period, and has stayed between 727 and 995 since. Violent crime has ranged from 40 to 84 a year. The 2025 figures, 40 violent and 727 property crimes, are the lowest since 2017 and below the ten-year average on both.
What Manhattan Beach's 2025 crimes were
Violent crime in Manhattan Beach, 2025
Of the 40 violent crimes, 20 were aggravated assaults, 13 robberies and 7 rapes; there were no homicides. Aggravated assaults fell from 27 in 2024 and robberies from 16, while rapes rose from 5, for an 18% drop in violent crime that year.
Property crime in Manhattan Beach, 2025
Larceny-theft made up 571 of the 727 property crimes. The DOJ file splits it further: 220 were shoplifting, 127 thefts from vehicles, 17 thefts of vehicle parts, 80 bicycle thefts and 49 thefts from buildings. Burglaries totaled 96, of which 75 were residential and 21 non-residential. Police recorded 60 motor vehicle thefts. Shoplifting is counted where the store is, so it says more about the city's shopping centers than its residential streets.
How many crimes were solved
The DOJ also counts clearances, usually an arrest. In 2025, Manhattan Beach police cleared 18 of 40 violent crimes (45%) and 130 of 727 property crimes (18%). Across Los Angeles County the property clearance rate was about 9%, by our calculation from the same file.
Manhattan Beach crime rates against nearby cities
Rates per 1,000 residents let you compare places of different sizes. We divided each agency's 2025 DOJ counts by the population in the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey (34,210 for Manhattan Beach). These are our calculations, not official rates. The county and state rows add up every agency in the DOJ file.
| Area, 2025 | Violent crimes | Violent per 1,000 | Property crimes | Property per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan Beach | 40 | 1.2 | 727 | 21.3 |
| Hermosa Beach | 76 | 4.0 | 437 | 22.9 |
| Redondo Beach | 161 | 2.3 | 1,533 | 22.1 |
| El Segundo | 67 | 4.0 | 570 | 34.0 |
| Torrance | 425 | 3.0 | 3,594 | 25.3 |
| Los Angeles County | 53,447 | 5.4 | 221,486 | 22.6 |
| California | 170,397 | 4.3 | 705,925 | 18.0 |
Manhattan Beach's violent crime rate, 1.2 per 1,000, was the lowest in the table and about a fifth of the county's 5.4. Its property crime rate, 21.3, was close to Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and the county, and above the state's 18.0. El Segundo's high property rate comes from 570 crimes spread over only 16,769 residents, a reminder of how much per-resident rates depend on who else works, shops and visits in a city.
What Manhattan Beach's crime figures leave out
- Visitors count against residents. Los Angeles County's beach page describes more than two miles of ocean frontage, a 900-foot pier and over 450 public parking spaces, and Downtown has more than 250 businesses. Crimes involving visitors and shoppers are divided by about 34,000 residents.
- Shopping centers add property crime. With 220 shoplifting cases in 2025, a large slice of the property total comes from stores, including the Manhattan Village center on Sepulveda Boulevard and Downtown.
- The DOJ file is citywide. It has no breakdown by street, tract or neighborhood, so it can't rank the Tree Section against El Porto. No official dataset we found does.
- Small numbers swing. A change of 20 robberies would move the 2025 violent total by half. Look at several years before reading a trend.
- Not every crime is reported. Thefts of low value often aren't, and reporting habits differ between cities.
For that reason we don't rate any Manhattan Beach area as safe or unsafe. Use the tools below for a specific address.
How to check crime near a Manhattan Beach address
Ask the Manhattan Beach Police Department
Call the department's non-emergency line and ask about recent reports and calls for service near the address, and whether it publishes crime statistics or maps on the city website. We could not open the city's website when we checked, so confirm what it currently publishes. City reports can count crimes differently from the DOJ file, so ask how.
Community Crime Map
The LexisNexis Community Crime Map shows recent incidents from agencies that share data with it. Search the address, set at least six months and compare nearby blocks. If Manhattan Beach incidents don't appear, the department may not publish there.
California DOJ OpenJustice
Download the Crimes and Clearances file to see any agency's yearly counts back to 1985, including clearances. It is the source for the tables above.
FBI Crime Data Explorer
The FBI's Crime Data Explorer shows agency figures reported to the national system and lets you compare with agencies outside California. Its counts can differ from the DOJ file because of reporting rules.
Megan's Law registry
The California DOJ's Megan's Law site lets you search registered sex offenders by address or ZIP code. Search 90266 and the blocks around the home.
Tsunami, flood and earthquake checks for Manhattan Beach homes
On a beach city's blocks nearest the sand, natural hazards can cost more over time than crime.
- Tsunami: the California Geological Survey publishes tsunami hazard area maps for the coast. Check whether the home is inside one, especially in El Porto and the Sand Section, and learn the route inland.
- Flood: look up the parcel on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and ask an insurer whether flood cover is needed.
- Earthquake and other hazards: Cal OES's MyHazards tool shows earthquake, flood, tsunami and fire hazards for an address. The median Manhattan Beach home was built in 1970 (Census, 2020-2024), so ask about foundation bolting and any seismic retrofit.
The seller's Natural Hazard Disclosure covers most mapped hazards; our California seller disclosure guide explains what you should receive, and the earthquake insurance guide covers the cost of cover.
Before you buy or rent in Manhattan Beach
- Pull six months of incidents near the address on the Community Crime Map, if Manhattan Beach data appears there.
- Ask the police department about calls for service near the address.
- Ask the seller or landlord about break-ins, bike storage and garage security; thefts from vehicles and of bicycles were 207 of 2025's larceny-thefts.
- Search the Megan's Law registry for the address.
- Check the tsunami and FEMA flood maps and read the Natural Hazard Disclosure.
- Visit on a summer weekend and on a weeknight.
For areas and housing, see our Manhattan Beach neighborhoods guide; for living costs, Manhattan Beach cost of living; and for buying steps, our Manhattan Beach homes guide. Statewide comparisons are in our California crime-rate ranking.