Sheriff—s Vista station reports overall crime decline, asks for a second gang detective and offers camera and LPR proposals

San Diego County Sheriff—s Office leaders briefed the Vista City Council on public-safety operations, crime statistics and adopted-technology pilots, and asked the city to consider adding investigative capacity for gang-related work.

Captain John Malan and Commander John Boyse outlined department staffing levels and activities at the Vista station. Malan opened the presentation by noting the station—s broad workload: "We're thriving. We're doing very, very well," he said, and then presented statistics showing the station handled about 30,000 calls for service in 2024.

Key data: The sheriff—s presentation compared January—November 2023 to the same period in 2024 and showed an 18.3% overall decline in reported crime. Crimes against persons dropped about 11%, and crimes against property fell roughly 22.6%; crimes against society— category that typically includes narcotics offenses—rose about 22%. The station—s field units include 38 patrol deputies, an eight-member traffic unit, four motor deputies, specialized detectives and a volunteer patrol program that logged more…