New Parking Crack Down Draws in $10,000

A security company hired by the city of Malibu to crack down on parking during the busy summer months has written $10,000 in parking tickets.

City Manager Jim Thorsen said most of the tickets were written by Calabasas-based Secural Services Corp. over the Fourth of July holiday.

"They have written about $10,000 worth of parking tickets," Thorsen said.

Lt. Jim Royal of the Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff's Station said the sheriff's department has been coordinating with Secural to make sure the work is efficient.

"They are generally working the east end more than the west end," Royal said. "They are very productive."

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Barrie Livingstone of Malibu wrote a letter to the city, complaining about the barage of tickets.

"How dare the police infringe on our public holiday in what is clearly a planned out day where in they can line their coffers. This has nothing to do with public safety," .

The Malibu City Council approved a $33,000 six-month contract, at a rate of $5,500 a month with Secural, in June. The council plans to revisit the contract in six months to gauge its effectiveness.