The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has released the 2022 crime statistics for the communities it serves. Each year the Sheriff’s Office compiles statistics about crimes occurring within the communities it serves and submits this information to the State of California. Reports are broken down into two major categories: Part 1 crimes, which are the most serious in nature, and Part 2 crimes, which includes a number of lesser criminal offenses and some juvenile status offenses.  Part 1 crimes are further broken down into two subcategories: violent crimes and property crimes.  Part 1 violent crimes are offenses that involve force or a threat of force and include criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.  Part 1 property crimes are theft-related offenses that do not involve threats or force against the victim, including burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.

Here are the Part 1 crime rates for 2022, broken down by unincorporated area or contract city, and compared to the previous year:

• Goleta: 16% decrease in overall crime; 43% decrease in violent crime (37 less crimes); 12% increase in property crime.
• Unincorporated areas: 8% decrease in overall crime; 8% increase in violent crime (19 additional crimes); 10% decrease in property crime.
• Buellton: 35% decrease in overall crime; 40% decrease in violent crime (4 less crimes); 35% decrease in property crime.
• Carpinteria: 20% decrease in overall crime; 41% increase in violent crime (9 additional crimes); 26% decrease in property crime.
• Solvang: 11% decrease in overall crime; 33% increase in violent crime (3 additional crimes); 16% decrease in property crime.

After experiencing three years of increasing crime rates, the communities served by the Sheriff’s Office experienced a 12% decrease in overall Part 1 violent crime, which is 6% lower than the preceding 10-year average. The most significant decreases in violent crime, as compared to last year, occurred in homicide (33% decrease), rape (16% decrease) and robbery (18% decrease).

Part 1 property crimes also decreased significantly from the previous year by 13%, which is also a 7% decrease against the 10-year average. Statistically relevant decreases in Part 1 property crime, when compared to the previous year, were seen in burglary (23% decrease), theft (11% decrease), and motor vehicle theft (25% decrease).  Arson cases rose by 157% due to 11 cases more than the previous year.  Many of these cases were generated by city or county Fire Departments who responded to illegal fires within the Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction.

Moving to Part 2 crimes, there was a 10% decrease overall when comparing to the previous year (2021), with almost all categories declining or remaining statistically similar. The largest reductions were seen in the areas of Weapons (11% decrease), Drugs (14% decrease), and Liquor Laws (55% decrease).

Sheriff Brown said, “The Sheriff’s Office is pleased to see these overall decreases in the number of reported crimes throughout our county. This is a trend that we welcome and believe is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our law enforcement and custody professionals, as well as our partnerships with the people we serve and protect. There is still work to be done to ensure that Santa Barbara County remains a safe place to live and work, but we are encouraged by the progress that has been made. The Sheriff’s Office will continue to work diligently to maintain this positive trend.

The Sheriff’s Office is honored to provide policing services for the cities of Buellton, Carpinteria, Goleta, and Solvang. The Sheriff’s Office attributes its effectiveness in maintaining public safety within each of these cities to ongoing collaboration with their city councils, leadership teams, and residents.

Learn more about the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office at www.SBSheriff.org.