Isla Vista continues to see a drop in the rambunctiousness of its historically notorious Halloween celebrations, with the holiday itself — on a Monday this year — another mellow affair.
“The attendance this year over the four-day period from Friday through Monday was significantly less than a typical weekend in Isla Vista,” said Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kelly Hoover.
Saturday, which was expected to be the big night for celebrations, was mostly quiet, with thousands of UC Santa Barbara students opting to attend the university’s third-annual Delirium concert, which took place on campus and featured New York hip-hop group Flashbush Zombies and Compton hip-hop recording artist YG.
Officials have credited the quiet weekend to the past few years’ unified efforts among university officials, students and law enforcement to discourage out-of-town visitors from converging on Isla Vista for Halloween, which in the past has resulted in hundreds of arrests, citations and medical calls.
Many of the problems in previous years were blamed on out-of-town visitors unfamiliar with the community of Isla Vista.
“We attribute the great success of Halloween weekend in Isla Vista first and foremost to the students for keeping the celebration safe and local,” Hoover said. “We also appreciate the work UCSB has done to provide student-centered activities to students.”
According to Hoover, there was one arrest and seven citations on Friday night and on Saturday, 12 people were arrested and nine received citations.
For the four days considered part of Halloween 2016, the Sheriff’s Office reported no crowd, 26 arrests, 46 citations and 13 medical transports.
Most of those arrests, Hoover said, were due to public intoxication, while the citations were primarily issued for violating the county noise ordinance and minors in possession of alcohol.
In comparison, over four days in 2013, the office recorded crowds of 12,000 to 15,000 people, along with 225 arrests, 249 citations and 51 medical transports.
“We appreciate all of the community stakeholders who have worked together to promote IV Safety Campaigns and a spirit of pride and ownership in the community and its reputation,” she said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.