The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has released its latest crime data showing mixed trends across the region, with violent crime increasing in some South Coast communities, including Carpinteria, even as overall crime declined countywide.
According to the report, Part 1 crimes, a category that includes both violent and property crimes, fell more than 9% across the county in 2025 compared with 2024. Property crimes such as burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft all decreased during that period.
However, violent crimes, including homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, increased about 4% countywide.
In Carpinteria, violent crime saw one of the largest increases on the South Coast, rising from 24 reported incidents in 2024 to 40 in 2025, an increase of nearly 67%.
Miguel Ruiz, a Carpinteria resident, described a recent incident at his business involving a man with a knife.
“We opened nine years ago and everything has been fine, until a week ago, a week and a half ago, a man with a knife came in and started threatening everyone. It was very scary,” Ruiz said.
Despite the rise in violent crime, sheriff’s officials said property crime in Carpinteria declined 7%, including fewer burglaries and motor vehicle thefts.
In Goleta, violent crime increased slightly, from 64 reported incidents in 2024 to 66 in 2025.
Alec Hardy, an operations assistant with the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, said he believes Carpinteria is still mostly safe compared with other nearby areas.
“Carpinteria is much more relatively safe compared to other places farther up the freeway because it is fairly small. I think one of the issues is having a freeway so close by. It’s easy to hop on and off the freeway, and that can contribute to people coming from other places and causing issues,” Hardy said.
Jeff King, a Carpinteria resident, said he has not personally noticed a change in crime.
“I haven’t noticed a difference in crime. There are a lot of visitors and it’s more busy,” King said.
