Halloween Stats 2017
An estimated 9,000 people converged on downtown Santa Cruz to celebrate Halloween last night. This event has become the largest single informal gathering in the city. The Santa Cruz Police Department is pleased to announce that Halloween 2017 transpired without any significant incidents of violence during the festivities downtown.
The Santa Cruz Police Department kept busy over the 24 hours of Halloween through the night and into the early morning hours of November 1st. From 8:00 AM on October 31st through 8:00 AM on November 1st, we handled 342 calls for service. SCPD deployed additional officers throughout the city as well as a significant contingent of officers on foot in the Downtown corridor.
The Downtown Deployment reported the following activity for Halloween Night 2017:
18 Arrests
For Public intoxication, Warrants, Drugs
42 Citations Issued
15 were for Triple Fine violations. Of the Triple Fine citations issued, most were for open containers of alcohol and public urination.
For comparison, in 2016 there were 20 arrests and 40 citations. Overall, downtown Santa Cruz, arrests were down, and citations were up from 2016.
The Halloween crowd demeanor was relatively calm and celebratory. Police presence included extra officers from Santa Cruz County law enforcement agencies, including Capitola PD, Watsonville PD, Scotts Valley PD, UCSC PD, Santa Cruz City Parks, and Santa Cruz County Probation. Law enforcement officers from State Parole and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Gang Team were present to support SCPD. Furthermore, we had additional California Highway Patrol officer from out of the county and the services of the CHP helicopter. We would like to thank all of the agencies who dedicated personnel and resources to assist the City of Santa Cruz throughout the night.
Proactive patrols included contact and close monitoring of several known gang members throughout the event. Officers were added to patrol throughout the remainder of the city to address neighborhood safety and complaints of large parties. We are pleased to see the hard work paid off and there were no significant incidents of violence.
