Santa Maria highlights public safety investments, community policing and expanding fire coverage

Police Chief Christopher Williams and Fire Chief Brad Dannridge described public safety activity and investments intended to strengthen policing, fire response and community trust in Santa Maria.

Williams said the police department has reestablished a gang suppression team, expanded mounted enforcement from two to four officers (each officer provides the horse), and worked with the city attorney on misdemeanor code prosecutions and gun-violence restraining orders. He highlighted outreach such as National Night Out, Coffee with a Cop and three annual citizens academies, and said those programs build relationships that support crime prevention. Williams noted crime is trending down and that motor vehicle thefts have fallen.

Williams also addressed parking enforcement and homelessness response: citations for parking-related issues have risen, and the department maintains a full-time community services unit that handles homelessness-related complaints and cleanup coordination.

Fire Chief Dannridge said the department serves roughly 110,000 residents from six stations, responded to more than 12,400 incidents in 2024 (a 15% increase versus three years prior), and opened Station 6 and placed a new engine into service to improve coverage to southern and western areas. He said the city joined a regional fire communication center (RFCC) allowing cross-jurisdictional dispatch of the closest resource and introduced the Genesis Evacuation Program, a map-based tool for real-time evacuation, shelter and road-closure information.

Dannridge said the department filled fire-inspector vacancies and implemented a commercial inspection schedule; the department’s ISO rating improved (cited as from 3xx to 2xx), which can affect insurance costs. He described planned station upgrades and relocations to keep pace with projected growth east of U.S. 101 and other expanding areas.

Both chiefs framed community engagement and interagency partnerships as central to crime prevention and emergency response going forward.