San Marino Police Department

If the San Marino Police Department has arrested or is investigating a family member, a loved one or even you, it is common to need to know the bail amount (if any) associated with the offense (if an own recognizance (OR) release is denied), the evidence needed to convict one for the crime that allegedly took place, the defenses possible and the sentence a judge can impose if one is convicted of the crime.

We at Greg Hill & Associates believe it is also good to know a few more things before interacting with any branch of law enforcement. It can be valuable, to know the size of the police or sheriff’s department, the city’s demographics, the most common types of crime the department investigates and just a bit about the city’s history to make one’s communication with law enforcement more meaningful, more savvy and perhaps, more respectful. This can lead to a better outcome than if one lacks such perspective.

This article is presented with this goal in mind.

The San Marino Police Department is small, with only twenty-eight sworn police officers and nine civilian support staff. This is not unexpected because the City of San Marino only has a population of 12,039 (as of 2022) and has an area of just 3.77 square miles.

Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca is a San Marino resident (now after serving his three year prison term).

San Marino is the location of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. In 1919, Henry E. Huntington provided limited access to his art collection, library containing the rare books and historical documents, and botanical collection. The Huntington's library contains eight million manuscripts, 440,000 rare books, 454,000 reference books, 900,000 prints and ephemera, 777,000 photographs, and 300,000 digital files.

In the middle of San Marino lies Lacy Park, a 30-acre (120,000 m2) expanse of grass and trees. Originally named Wilson Lake in 1875, the land was purchased by the city in 1925 and dedicated as a park. It is one of the few neighborhood parks that charge for admission, with a $5 fee for non-San Marino residents on weekends.

According to the 2020 Census, San Marino had a median household income of $174,253, with 9.0% of the population living below the federal poverty line. With a median home price of $2,699,098, San Marino is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area.

To a prior generation of Southern Californians, San Marino was known for its old-money wealth and as a bastion of the region's “WASP gentry. By mid-century, however, other European ethnic groups had become the majority.

In 1970, the city was 99.7% White. By 1990, the city's households were 23.7% Asian. In 2000, the city's Asian households increased to 40%. In recent decades, immigrants of Chinese and Taiwanese ancestry have come to represent more than 60% of the population, perhaps due to its location in the San Gabriel Valley, known to be a popular destination for East Asian immigrants.

The San Marino Police Department was involved in a major incident when in 1988, a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) undercover operation went wrong in neighboring Pasadena and two DEA agents were killed and the suspects fled in a car and were chased by police through Pasadena and San Marino until two suspects were killed and one wounded and the suspect's vehicle crashed into a sidewalk on Huntington drive. No San Marino Police officers were injured in the chase.

In late 2011, the department was called to deal with a situation at the home of Tim Sloan, the CFO of Wells Fargo, where 80 to 100 people connected to the “Occupy” movement protested on the lawn of Mr. Sloan's home. The protesters knocked on the door of the home but no one answered and after an hour the police declared it an unlawful assembly and the protesters left peacefully. Several days later the San Marino Police Chief apologized to residents of the area around the home where protesters where after complaints of slow police response and a lack of enforcing trespassing laws.

In other words, there is not much crime in San Marino, however, the expensive homes of the city are attractive targets for any would-be burglars.

For more information about being arrested and possibly facing a criminal case, please click on the following articles:

Below is the Google Map to the San Marino Police Department.