The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is sharing information to address topics of community concern surrounding the recent sexual assaults in Isla Vista.

Since the last press release on March 2, 2022, Sheriff’s detectives and deputies have been actively following up on this case. Detectives have identified seven separate crimes that are believed to be associated with this same suspect. Sheriff’s Office team members have fielded dozens of calls from concerned residents, parents, and community members. One of the frequent concerns has been reports of ongoing attempted kidnappings where the victim is intentionally harmed. There are no verified reports of kidnapping or attempted kidnapping incidents after the string of crimes on February 28, 2022. Additionally, Sheriff’s deputies checked with area hospitals and campus healthcare centers and verified that there were not any patients with injuries that would correlate to the rumored kidnapping attempts.

In the days to come, while detectives continue their investigation, the Sheriff’s Office and UCSB Police will maintain increased patrols in Isla Vista and on campus. The Sheriff’s Office will share updates on this case, including any arrests made as soon as that information becomes available.

UCSB will have additional CSO staffing added to their escort service, and they will host the Annual Lighting and Safety Walk on Monday, March 7, 2022, starting at 5:30 p.m. on the west side of the UCSB Library near the Arbor. The UCSB Police Department is also planning to offer R.A.D. self-defense classes soon.

If you have information about the incident in Isla Vista that might assist in the investigation, please contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office at (805) 681-4100, or report crime information anonymously at www.sbsheriff.org/anonymoustips.html.

If you have information that might assist in the investigation, please contact the UCSB Police Department at (805) 893-3446, or report crime information anonymously at www.police.ucsb.edu/report-crime.

The UCSB Police Department offered the following safety tips:

• Perpetrators are responsible for sexual assault. Crime victims are never responsible for the behavior of perpetrators.
• If you start to feel concerns about a person or a situation, trust your instincts and try to remove yourself as quickly as possible from the potential threat.
• If you think someone is at risk of assault or abuse, you should consider it an emergency and act to support that person. You can call the police or ask for help from other people, intervene directly if safe, or create a distraction to help remove the potential victim from the situation.
• If you feel you are being followed, try to get the attention of people nearby, run/walk to a well-lit and/or more populated area, and call 911 to ask for help.

UCPD shares these Safety Tips while recognizing that perpetrators, and not their victims or survivors, are solely responsible for their actions.

The UCSB Police Department’s CSO Safety Escort Program is a free service provided to members of the UCSB community as a safe alternative to walking alone at night. Call (805) 893-2000 to request a CSO escort. For more information: https://www.police.ucsb.edu/cso/cso-safety-escorts.

As an additional measure given the concern for safe transit of students, the UCSB Associated Students Safe Transportation program is providing reimbursement for undergraduate students who use a ride share (Uber, Lyft, taxis, etc.) that starts or ends on the UCSB campus within the hours of 6pm and sunrise, up to $12 per ride. Undergraduates are encouraged to contact UCSB for further information.