The week during the Santa Barbara County Halloween outdoor festival ordinances turned out to be the “safest Halloween yet,” according to Isla Vista Foot Patrol Lieutenant Garrett TeSlaa. Oct. 25, the day before the ordinances went into effect, saw the most crimes for October with 12 arrests and over 100 citations.
The ordinance date was a concern for several residents this year since it was a new development in recent years. Nexus file photo
“The ordinance spanning those two weekends really squashed it; even though people were here on Friday, the parties were much smaller than they have been in the past years, because people were already leaving to get out of town in anticipation of not having much to do here for the weekend,” TeSlaa said.
Santa Barbara County (SBC) enforces ordinances that ban outdoor festivals from Oct. 26 to Nov. 4 from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. Since Halloween fell on a Thursday this year, the ban encompassed the two weekends around Halloween. The ordinance date was a concern for several residents, since it was a new development in recent years.
“The ordinance has always had the language of October 26 through November 4. We didn’t change that, and we don’t have the ability to change that, because that’s what it is in the law,” TeSlaa said. “It just doesn’t always fall over two weekends around Halloween, so it’ll sometimes be the lead-up to Halloween and then after.”
There was one report of sexual assault on Oct. 31 and one on the weekend of Nov. 1-3. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating these incidents. On Oct. 25, Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) issued over 100 citations and made 12 arrests related to Halloween activities. During the ordinance time, IVFP made six arrests and issued 20 citations, TeSlaa said.
This year, the biggest concerns for law enforcement were fraternity parties, which mostly occurred on Embarcadero del Norte — Isla Vista’s unofficial Greek row. TeSlaa said IVFP shut down multiple parties for excessive alcohol consumption and for serving alcohol to minors. The parties also put up illegal posts and fencing that blocked eyesight into the parties, which is a code ordinance violation. The SBC fire marshal is currently investigating these issues.
“It’s purely speculation, but because they have the larger properties, the larger parking lots and the attention has been on [Del Playa Drive] for some time, they feel like they have an ability to get away with crimes that they don’t think we’re going to pay attention to, and they’re wrong,” TeSlaa said.
While IVFP was unable to give an exact count of total citations at the time, most citations were issued for minors in possession of alcohol or disorderly conduct, TeSlaa said. According to crime logs from the ordinance period, one arrest was made for disorderly conduct, one for open container violations and one for a DUI.
However, there was a 71% reduction in deployment for medical calls since last year’s Halloween. Additionally, the number of deployed officers on Halloween weekend was lowered from last year and was halved on Halloween night, according to TeSlaa.
From the weekend before the ordinances to the weekends of ordinances, University of California in Isla Vista (UCIV) — a volunteer organization that provides escorts and food supplies at tents throughout Isla Vista — distributed over 100 units of Narcan and gave approximately 12 escorts, according to UCIV chair and third-year religious studies major Samira Casillas. There were about 800 visits to their tents around I.V. on Oct. 25, the day before the ordinances took effect.
“The vast majority of the population was cooperative and compliant. We didn’t get a lot of pushback on the ordinances once they were in effect, and we appreciate everyone’s cooperation with that because, as a result, we had one of the safest Halloweens in history here in Isla Vista,” TeSlaa said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Nov. 7, 2024 edition of the Daily Nexus.
