Isla Vista Halloween by the Numbers: Attendance and Criminal Activity Down Again

For the second year in a row, Isla Vista’s infamous Halloween weekend has continued a downward trend of illegal activity, with only two arrests and 17 citations issued and none of those actually coming on Halloween night, which passed by quietly without any incident reports, arrests, or citations.

“The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all of the allied agencies that assisted in the planning and logistics involved in this year’s Halloween operation,” said Public Information Officer Raquel Zick.

Last year, there were two arrests and 20 citations issued over the weekend, and in 2019, there were six arrests and 44 citations. 

Isla Vista has seemed to have shaken off the stigma of years past, when revelers flocked to the college community and authorities responded by the hundreds to alcohol violations, fights, and DUIs. Over the 2013 Halloween weekend, more than 200 arrests were made and 250 citations were issued.

In recent years, a strong police presence and strict noise ordinances have cracked down on Halloween parties, and attendance and criminal activity have diminished, Zick said.

Both of this year’s arrests were on Friday, October 29, and both were for outstanding warrants. Of the nine citations given on Friday and eight given on Saturday, only four were alcohol-related citations. The rest, Zick said, were traffic related.

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