Crime Numbers
There were 1,532 violent crimes and 8,742 property crimes in Santa Barbara County in 2017, the most recent year with a complete set of crime data provided by the California Department of Justice. These figures show that incidences of violent crimes dropped by 8.2% between 2013 and 2017 while property crime rate went down by 11% in the same period. A closer look at the 2017 crime data for the county indicates that there were 8 homicides, 257 rapes, 327 robberies, and 940 aggravated assaults. Incidences of property crimes reported that year include 1,663 burglaries, 5,825 larceny-thefts, 1,254 motor vehicle thefts, and 54 arsons.
The five-year crime trend for Santa Barbara County shows that homicide (33.3%), rape (68%), robbery (14.7%), and motor vehicle theft (9.4%) rates rose. On the other hand, aggravated assault (3.3%), burglary (26.1%), larceny-theft (9.4%), and arson (10%) rates fell between 2013 and 2017.
Santa Barbara County Criminal Records
Residents of Santa Barbara County can request their own criminal background checks from the Office of the Attorney General of the California Department of Justice. This agency provides fingerprint-based background checks and requires requesters to submit fingerprint cards to access their records. Start your request by completing the Request for Live Scan Service form (also available in Spanish). Tick and fill in “Record Review” in the spaces for “Type of Application” and “Reason for Application”.
Have your fingerprints rolled onto an approved fingerprint card by taking the completed form to either the:
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department
4434 Calle Real
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
Offers fingerprinting service on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Appointment required. Charges $7 for the service. Only cash payments accepted.
Or
Santa Barbara Police Department
215 E. Figueroa Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93102
Fingerprinting available during weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Make prior appointment. Walk-ins accepted on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Fee for this service is $25 payable with cash and credit/debit cards.
Send the completed application form along with the fingerprint card obtained to:
California Department of Justice
Record Review Unit
P.O. Box 903417
Sacramento, CA 94203-4170
Include a personal check, certified check, or money order for $24. Make your check or money order payable to the California Department of Justice.
Santa Barbara County Police Reports
The Records Bureau of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for releasing incident, crime, and accident reports to the public and media. It accepts mail, email, phone, fax, and in-person requests for these records. Make your request easier to process by sending a completed Report Request Form.
Send it by email to records@sbsheriff.org. Alternatively, call (805) 681-4189 or fax the form to (805) 681-5364. You can also submit the request form in person to the Sheriff’s Office at 4434 Calle Real, Santa Barbara or send it by US Mail to:
P.O. Box 647
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
The Sheriff’s Office charges $9.50 for crime, incident, and accident reports that are no longer than 10 pages. Additional pages cost 10 cents per page.
Santa Barbara County Sex Offenders
California law empowers the Department of Justice to maintain a central database of registered sex offenders in all the counties of the state. This registry is available on the state’s Megan’s Law website. You can search the California Sex Offender Registry for offenders residing in Santa Barbara County by selecting the county from the drop-down list of California counties. In addition to name searches, you can also search the registry by providing zip codes, cities, and street addresses in Santa Barbara County.
Santa Barbara County Inmate Records
The Santa Barbara County Jail is the main (only currently operating) correctional facility in the county. Its phone number is (805) 681-4260 and its location is:
4436 Calle Real
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
The Northern Branch Jail is under construction and billed to become operational in the spring of 2019. Its address is:
2301 Black Road
Santa Maria, CA 93456
Use the Who Is In Custody online resource to perform a Santa Barbara County Inmate search on the county jail population and find individuals incarcerated in the facility. Friends and family members can fund inmates’ accounts by using the kiosks at the main jail facility in Santa Barbara and the sub-station in Santa Maria. These kiosks are available 24 hours a day and every day. They accept cash and debit/credit card deposits.
Phone and online deposit via TouchPay are also accepted. First register online at www.TouchPayDirect.com or with the vendor’s customer service. Call (866) 232-1899 to pay via phone or visit TouchPay website to pay online.
Court Records
The Superior Court of California has four courthouses in Santa Barbara County. These hear all civil, criminal, and traffic cases and are located in the Cities of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Solvang. Consequently, each court generates and disseminates court records pertaining to their judicial and administrative processes, and Santa Barbara County Court Records can be obtained by querying the custodian. Below are their addresses and contact information:
SANTA BARBARA:
CIVIL CASES
1100 Anacapa Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93121-1107
(805) 882-4520
CRIMINAL/TRAFFIC CASES
118 E. Figueroa Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 568-3959
SANTA MARIA:
CIVIL CASES
312-C East Cook Street
Bldg. E
Santa Maria, CA 93456-5369
(805) 614-6414
CRIMINAL/TRAFFIC CASES
312-M East Cook Street
Bldg. E
Santa Maria, CA 93456-5165
(805) 346-7550
LOMPOC:
115 Civic Center Plaza
Lompoc, CA 93436-6967
CRIMINAL/TRAFFIC: (805) 737-7789
CIVIL : (805) 737-5452
SOLVANG:
1745 Mission Drive, Suite C
Solvang, CA 93463-3605
(805) 686-5040
Use the Smart Search resource to search for the records of these courts online. Requests for judicial administrative records should be written and sent to:
Mr. Darrel E. Parker
Executive Officer
Santa Barbara County Superior Court
1100 Anacapa Street, Second Floor
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
This office is open to the public from Monday to Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
To view court documents, come to the Records window of the North County or South County Records Department. The Santa Maria, Solvang, and Lompoc courthouses are in the North County while the Santa Barbara courthouse falls in the South County. Below are the locations of both Records Department:
North County
312-C East Cook Street
Santa Maria, CA 93453
(805) 614-6414
South County
118 E. Figueroa Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 882-4778
Court records are available for viewing in these locations between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. To obtain copies of court records, send a written request containing case number and names of parties to:
118 E. Figueroa Street
Attn: Records
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Or
312-E East Cook Street
Attn: Records
Santa Maria, CA 93453
South County Records Department also requires a self-addressed stamped envelope and a check for processing fee payable to Clerk of the Court. Write “not to exceed $100” in the memo section of a check sent for civil, family, and probate case records. For criminal case records, write “not to exceed $130”.
The North County Records Department accepts mail and email requests. Send your email request to northcountyrecords@sbcourts.org. It can deliver records by mail, email, and fax. It accepts Visa and MasterCard cards. Include the card number, expiration date, and 3-digit security code on the back in your request.
Both Records Department charges 50 cents per page for copies of mailed or emailed records. The North County division charges $1 per page for faxed copies. There is an additional $25 fee for certified records.
Vital Records
The North and South County Records Departments of the Superior Court issue divorce records for Santa Barbara County. Steps to obtaining these records are the same as for other court records as outlined above. However, the fee for each certified copy of divorce judgement is $15.
The Santa Barbara County Clerk-Recorder is the official responsible for providing certified copies of birth, death, and marriage certificates. It accepts walk-in, mail, and fax requests for these vital records. To request for a birth, death, or marriage record in person, visit one of these two offices of the Clerk-Recorder:
Hall of Records
1100 Anacapa Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Betteravia Government Center
511 East Lakeside Parkway #115
Santa Maria, CA 93455
Bring a completed Application for Birth (also in Spanish), Death (Spanish), or Marriage (Spanish) Certificate as applicable. Bring along a government-issued photo ID.
Fax applications should go to (805) 568-2266. Alternatively, send your application by First Class Mail to:
Santa Barbara County Clerk-Recorder
P.O. Box 159
Santa Barbara, CA 93102-0159
Or by FedEx, UPS, and other courier services to:
Santa Barbara County Clerk-Recorder
1100 Anacapa St., Hall of Records
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
The fees for in-person requests are $28, $21, and $15 for each certified copy of birth, death, and marriage certificate respectively.
The Clerk-Recorder charges $30, $23, and $17 to deliver the first certified copy of a birth, death, and marriage certificate respectively by First Class Mail. Corresponding fees for USPS Express Mail deliveries are $51.50, $44.50, and $38.50. Each additional copy of the same record costs $15.
The fees for the first certified copies of birth, death, and marriage certificates requested by fax and delivered by USPS Express Mail are $58.50, $51.50, and $45.50 respectively. Each additional copy of the same record costs $15.
