Authorities said arrests were more than doubled in 2024 after the fourth consecutive year at the Santa Barbara’s annual unauthorized Delta Street party this weekend.
Isla Vista’s weekend’s Delta party brings thousands of local college students to a raucous celebration near the beach, with arrests and citations increasing every year since 2021, according to data released by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
This year, 84 people were arrested and 485 were cited. In 2024, there were 32 arrests and 254 citations. 23 people were arrested and 151 cited the previous year.
Friday night was quite calm, but weekend activities intensified Saturday, according to the sheriff’s office.
“The crowd size and emergency medical calls were significantly increased on Saturday, most of which were related to alcoholism,” the office said in a statement released Monday. “Representatives and officials coordinated with the fire and medical teams to respond to the telephone and clear roads of dense ambulances using pre-planned rescue units, ensuring a quick access to ambulances. Thankfully, there were reported deaths of Cliff Falls or fentanyl overdoses.
The worst arrest last weekend was the suspension of a group of people in the market drive Saturday morning as the group headed to Deltopia. The sheriff's office said a member of the group owns a full gun.
Officials also arrested six counts as part of a month-long investigation into a conspiracy to violate the holiday decree. Authorities were arrested in a house where there was a paid party with tickets for sale on the ticketing platform.
The Sheriff’s Office did point out that no one died this year. There is no fentanyl overdose, nor does it have cliff falls.
A junior at UC Santa Barbara died of a fentanyl overdose in 2023, and more than a decade ago a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student fell off a cliff and died.
