Local police stay firm in suspending the Restorative Justice Program, where certain citations can be waived through classes and community service, on Deltopia. In a workshop on Feb. 26, Isla Vista Foot Patrol and campus police emphasized the strain Deltopia puts on local medical services, saying that the suspension is designed to limit alcohol and drug abuse, a primary cause of medical calls, during Deltopia. 

In 2024, emergency services responded to 106 medical calls and 35 of these calls led to hospital transportations. Wesley Haver / Daily Nexus

The Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) implemented the Restorative Justice (RJ) program in 2019 as a community-focused alternative to traditional punishment for low-level crimes such as noise violations or public intoxication. The program waives any fee and the crime from one’s record in exchange for taking a class and completing community service. The program will be suspended in I.V. during this year’s Deltopia weekend, taking place April 5-6.

Deltopia is I.V.’s annual unsanctioned street festival that takes place on the first weekend of spring quarter. An estimated 20,000-25,000 people filled the streets of I.V. last year, where a record level of citations were issued by officers. Those citations were not eligible for the RJ program, which was suspended for the first time in a unilateral decision by IVFP.

Only nonviolent misdemeanor citations are eligible for the RJ program. An eligible student would complete a short class and up to four hours of community service. The participant would have their ticket waived upon completion of those tasks, according to Officer Colby Carrell, the community resource deputy for IVFP. 

During the workshop at the Pardall Center, officers from the University of California Police Department (UCPD) discussed rules and regulations for the upcoming Deltopia, as well as the safety measures that law enforcement will take on those days. 

During the panel, which was attended by UC Santa Barbara students and I.V. locals, Carrell called Deltopia a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) — a term used to describe an event that overwhelms local healthcare resources. Carrell said that the MCI designation allows the police force to have a larger number of officers and medical staff on Deltopia, including contracting from outside agencies. 

The officers stated that 10-15 years ago, they would have 20-30 deputies and officers working on a weekend night; now there are about four to five, compared to about 5,000-6,000 residents participating in social gatherings on Del Playa Drive. 

“Staffing has significantly decreased. So for something like this, we have to pull this big red handle and get more people out here to be able to effectively enforce the law,”  Carrell said.

The officers said that a central concern for Deltopia is providing adequate medical services, a primary challenge in past years. 

“Last year, there were so many calls for service that the AMR, which is the paramedics and the fire department, were overwhelmed. So by nine o’clock [a.m.] they were already out of ambulances. That’s how many people started drinking,” UCPD Officer Gary Gaston said.

The increase in alcohol consumption leads to a greater need for medical services, according to Carrell. In 2024, emergency services responded to 106 medical calls and 35 of these calls led to hospital transportations.  

“99% of those transports were because of alcohol, a preventable medical issue,” Carrell said.

The officers expect to see a repeat of that shortage in the upcoming Deltopia. This overwhelming need for resources does not just impact those who take part in Deltopia, but for people in the county and nearby counties, according to the officers.

“We had to have ambulances from [San Luis Obispo] come down and from Ventura to come up. People say someone fell and broke their leg, or someone had a heart attack in Solvang, and it could be 30, 40 minutes before an ambulance gets there to help them,” Carrell said. 

In addition to the increase in alcohol-related medical calls, mental health crisis numbers increase over Deltopia weekend, according to Gaston. 

“For some, Deltopia is fun, it’s like a lifetime for them to party with their friends. But for others that don’t have a place to go and don’t want to be in that environment, it can be stressful. And so we do see our mental health crisis kind of escalate,” Gaston said.

This, in combination with the alcohol related medical emergencies, makes Deltopia a massive strain on local resources, according to the officers. In response, the sheriff’s office decided to suspend the RJ program for the second year during Deltopia weekend. 

“On a typical Friday and Saturday night, if you’re cooperative, you don’t run, you don’t lie about your name, you’re generally just cool with the whole process, you’ll get a restorative justice citation,” Carrell said. 

The suspension of this program means that instead of taking the restorative justice class after getting a low level citation, the ticket will go on the offender’s record and they may have to pay a fine. 

The officers discussed average ticket prices that they expect to write on Deltopia, with the cheapest being $235. Examples they provided included open container in public at $235, fake ID at $400, loud music at $235 and public intoxication at up to $1,000. The cutoff for playing music has been moved from the typical 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. for Deltopia weekend as well.

Carrell said that issuing these types of tickets is a primary goal of law enforcement, because they are a tool to reduce alcohol-related medical emergencies. 

“That’s the only thing law enforcement can really do to prevent someone from becoming another one of those medical transports and putting a strain on the system,” Carrell said.

Although Carrell did not say whether or not the issuance of citations or suspension of RJ decreased crime or medical rates last year, the sheriff’s office is firm in continuing to suspend the program. Participation in Deltopia is against the spirit of RJ, Carell said.

“The whole ethos of restorative justice is being a good community member, not being a part of the problem that is Deltopia, right? We’ve talked about how it’s a big medical issue, it’s a strain on the hospitals, and if you’re out there getting tickets and breaking the law, that is against the ethos of restorative justice,” Carrell said. 

The RJ program was also intended for people who live in the I.V. community, and with the influx of 30,000 people from other areas, the program would apply to those outside of its intended jurisdiction, according to Gaston. 

“The Restorative Justice program was to provide education and stuff like that for people who live here. So what we teach in that class is all about Isla Vista and why you, as a member of Isla Vista, are part of the greater fabric that is the entire community, and how your personal behavior contributes to escalating criminal numbers [and] crime stats,” Gaston said. 

Some student attendees felt that the suspension will negatively impact them. Sydney Bivins, a fourth-year psychological & brain sciences major, said the suspension of this program will negatively impact students due to increased fines and legal consequences.

“They’re going to have to deal with more fines. They’re going to have to deal with more of the harsher punishments, without the opportunity to grow that the restorative justice program offers. So I think it’s going to be a net negative for UCSB to be students, for sure,” Bivins said.

[CORRECTION: A previous version of this article’s headline quoted a UCPD officer. This article has been updated to reflect that the quote was from an IVFP officer.]

A version of this article appeared on p. 6 of the Mar. 6, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.