With an estimated 25,000 attendees, this year’s Deltopia saw a record number of citations and arrests amidst a larger police presence.
The 14th annual unsanctioned street festival Deltopia saw an estimated 25,000 people crowding the streets of Isla Vista. Shiuan Cheng / Daily Nexus
The 14th annual unsanctioned street festival Deltopia crowded the streets of Isla Vista on Saturday, April 5. According to Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) Commander Garrett TeSlaa, they received 130 medical calls and 485 citations were issued this year – nearly double the amount from last year and the most in the event’s history. 84 arrests were made according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office (SBSO), compared to 32 arrests last year.
At a meeting last year, TeSlaa said there would be a tripling of police presence for Deltopia 2025, following a record number of citations issued in 2024. According to a statement made by IVFP Lieutenant Joe Schmidt, a team of eight law enforcement agencies and nearly 300 deputies and officers patrolled checkpoints throughout I.V.
Emergency services
According to Santa Barbara County (SBC) Fire Department Public Information Officer Scott Safechuck, there were 93 calls for service related to Deltopia on Saturday. He also noted that 60 incidents were handled by SBC Fire’s Rescue Task Forces, 33 incidents handled by engine companies, 10 incidents on UC Santa Barbara’s campus and 23 incidents in I.V. but “outside of the Del Playa and Sabado Tarde Deltopia zone.”
Safechuck also confirmed there were 135 total emergencies, compared to 106 last year.
Emergency Medical Services responders were stationed around Isla Vista on call to help inebriated or injured partygoers. Wesley Haver / Daily Nexus
There were three DUI arrests made at a DUI checkpoint located at Los Carneros Road and Discovery Drive, along with two made by saturation patrol, or when officers patrol a specific area looking for inebriated drivers. All DUI arrests involved drivers aged 18 to 20.
The Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) contributed to many resources available to participants in I.V., including the Spring Festival at Little Acorn Park and People’s Park as a safe alternative to Deltopia by giving out free water and tacos. IVCSD also hosted Recovery Centers in partnership with Good Samaritan Shelter, which provided minor care for people who needed a chance to recover without calling emergency services.
“I think people really feel like the efforts that we’ve made have contributed towards Deletopia getting safer,” IVCSD Board President Spencer Brandt said.
Additional efforts from IVCSD also include handing out Narcan, drink test kits and fentanyl test strips the morning of Deltopia, as well as having a Resource Map where participants could locate bathrooms, water stations, safety stations and more.
Santa Barbara County Fire Department received 130 emergency medical response calls related to Deltopia. Lance Sanchez / Daily Nexus
Arrests and citations
According to a press release from SBSO, officers arrested a subject who was found in possession of a loaded firearm on the 6900 block of Marketplace Drive at 10:54 a.m. Six suspects were arrested as a result of a month-long investigation into conspiracy to host a paid party on the 6600 block of Del Playa Drive in violation of the county ordinance, with tickets sold using a ticketing platform. The Nexus was unable to confirm further information about the arrests.
According to SBSO April 5 arrest logs, 58 people were arrested for being drunk in public. 5 people were arrested for being a minor in possession of alcohol, and 19 were arrested for obstructing a police officer. 30 of the people arrested in I.V. were women.
During Deltopia weekend, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and partner agencies made 84 arrests and issued 485 citations. Alexa Lopez / Daily Nexus
Community members also expressed that they felt women were being targeted by police and arrested disproportionately at the April 8 IVCSD meeting.
“On Saturday, I saw many people, most of them young women wearing only bathing suits, being detained and arrested by police. These were not dangerous or belligerent people,” fourth-year political science and biological anthropology double major Ella Spring said at the meeting. “As a woman myself, I cannot imagine how terrifying and demoralizing and traumatizing it must have been to have been wearing only a bathing suit, to have been sat down on the curb wearing handcuffs restrained by men with guns.”
At the same meeting, IVCSD Board Director Kylan Hobart agreed that women seemed targeted for arrests this year, saying she witnessed many women being arrested who weren’t causing any issues. Brandt said TeSlaa told him a part of IVFP’s strategy “was to detain women in particular that were suspected of being under the influence.”
TeSlaa responded “that’s not at all what [he] said, nor what [he] meant,” but rather he meant all people who were intoxicated to a degree where they would be safer in custody, rather than being left alone unattended.
“Our strategy was not just for females, it was for everybody, that if we saw people who were intoxicated to the point they couldn’t care for their safety or the safety of others, we were doing early interventions as soon as we could to take them out of the population,” TeSlaa said.
TeSlaa denied requests for further comment from the Nexus.
Local reactions
In many of IVCSD’s promotions leading up to Deltopia, they emphasized preventing non-locals from coming to the event through their Instagram posts. According to Brandt, some people who were visiting, including high school students, didn’t know anyone from the area.
“They don’t have a vested interest in caring for our community the way that those of us that live here do,” Brandt said in an interview with the Nexus. “These are real impacts on our neighbors, and so I think that there’s a continued, important conversation that we all need to have about continuing to put some positive peer pressure on ourselves. Keep this event safe and local because I think the event’s safety continues to depend upon that.”
Bella Kormos, a second-year environmental studies major, offered her thoughts on those visiting out of town without knowing anyone in the area.
“I think that if you have a friend at UCSB or [Santa Barbara City College], it’s okay if you have someone that you’re staying with. I had a few friends from out of town come, like my best friends, but if you’re just coming and you don’t know anyone, I feel like that’s kind of weird,” Kormos said.
Charles Zhou, a third-year mechanical engineering major, felt glad about the larger police presence, considering how many people come from out of town. He said he was fine with out-of-towners coming, as long as they respected people’s property and did not leave behind trash.
“I’m fine with them coming, as long as they’re respectful of people’s property and just [don’t] leave traces behind. But from what I know, most of the out-of-towners just come here to trash the place,” Zhou said.
An individual or a group broke a beach entrance barrier on Del Playa Drive during Deltopia weekend. According to Santa Barbara County social host ordinances, beach access is prohibited during the Deltopia celebrations. Lance Sanchez / Daily Nexus
University of California in Isla Vista (UCIV), a non-police affiliated organization through UCSB’s Associated Students that typically oversees aid stations on weekend nights, had a tent stationed at Walter Capps Park, a central location on Del Playa Drive.
According to Executive Vice President for Local Affairs Owen Meyers, UCIV had over 10,000 visitors at their tent. They distributed 500 gallons of water, 1,200 units of Narcan, 3,000 units of Liquid I.V. and $3,000 worth of snacks.
“I think a lot of [the tent’s success] is to the credit of the fact that it was at such a convenient location for people; it’s hard to miss. You could see the tent from over a block away,” Meyers said. “People [could] recognize that we’re non-police affiliated and came and kind of huddled around it as a safe space.”
Members of the local community felt the police presence was overwhelming, such as second-year environmental studies major Kaitlyn Rokuskie. She said she felt the police presence was “a little overkill” but still necessary for people’s safety. Brandt spoke on the larger police presence, claiming the larger amount of law enforcement may be necessary due to the unpermitted nature of the event.
“We’re never going to get to a point where we reduce the negatives that people feel of the large law enforcement presence, of the large ambulance and medical presence due to medical, drug and alcohol overdoses, if we don’t have [an event] that is more organized and permitted,” Brandt said.
Meyers also spoke on the large police presence, mentioning how the influx of officers may lead to participants feeling on edge. He proposed that a larger focus on emergency services could foster a safer environment for Deltopia.
“The funding that could be put towards these officers and paying them overtime could be diverted into salaries for more additional [Emergency Medical Technicians], or calling medical service paramedics out of the county,” Meyers said. “I feel like that could benefit us a lot more and also contribute to the harm reduction aspect.”
Since last year, no misdemeanor citations are eligible for IVFP’s Restorative Justice Program, which waives nonviolent misdemeanor citations from one’s record as long as they take a class and complete community service. IVFP Community Resource Deputy Colby Carrell stated Deltopia is “against the ethos of restorative justice” in a workshop on Feb. 26. Meyers said he believes this is unfair, especially to first-year students who may not have a full understanding of the event.
“I think the unfortunate aspect of condemning people for participating in that event, condemning a lot of people, for example, that are freshmen and don’t really know what the event is. I just think it’s unfair to them to not give them that second chance that’s commonly offered,” Meyers said. “That approach has led, and I’ve seen it [lead] to reduction of harm reduction.”
TeSlaa and Schmidt denied requests for comment.
Crowds of people walk up and down Del Playa Drive going from party to party. While much of the parties took place on Del Playa Drive, they extended throughout the streets of Isla Vista north of Trigo Road. Shiuan Cheng / Daily Nexus
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Apr. 10, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.
