Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Isla Vista safety-station program reports big year-over-year drops and Deltopia spike; board asks for more data
Summary
Pam Gebhardt, CSO coordinator for UCPD, presented FY23-24 and FY24-25 safety-station reports showing 26,858 total contacts in 2023–24 and large weekend spikes tied to Deltopia; directors noted a roughly 2,000-contact year-over-year fall and requested further data and outreach plans.
Pam Gebhardt, CSO coordinator for the UCSB Police Department, told the Isla Vista CSD board that the student-based safety-station program runs from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays at two primary locations and is staffed by fingerprinted, background-checked UCSB student safety partners who complete more than 40 hours of training.
Gebhardt presented FY23-24 figures showing fall-quarter contacts of 3,715 at Little Acorn Park and 4,959 at Window To The Sea Park, and a year-end total of 26,858 contacts with water distributed to 26,497 people and 213 dispatched safety escorts. She said the program provides field escorts, phone charging, masks and in-person reporting assistance, and that spring-quarter numbers spiked during Deltopia 2024, producing unusually high single-day totals.
For FY24-25 Gebhardt described operational challenges including staffing cycles because SSPs are students who leave in June, a temporary relocation of one station to Walter Capps Park during construction, and harassment of SSPs by an individual she described as a "first amendment auditor" who filmed and made derogatory remarks to student employees.
Directors pressed on a sharp year-over-year decline in contacts; one board member noted a drop of roughly 2,000 fall-quarter contacts between years and asked whether the decline could be explained by moved station locations, better community awareness, reduced need or data-collection differences. Gebhardt said the team will step up in-person tabling, social-media outreach and earlier recruitment to restore awareness and suggested partnering with campus organizations and Santa Barbara City College to broaden reach.
Board members also raised operational questions about expanding the SSP role (for example, making certain light-warning contacts instead of law-enforcement responses); Gebhardt said SSPs are employed by UCSB and their jurisdictional limits and the MOU with IVCSD constrain possible role changes unless run through the Isla Vista Foot Patrol and sheriff's department.
Directors recommended the board pursue better data collection to understand whether lower contacts reflect fewer needs or an awareness problem, and asked staff to investigate options (including heating solutions) to improve working conditions and recruitment for SSPs. No formal board action was taken; the presentation generated direction for follow-up and further analysis.
