Santa Barbara County Police Reports: Every Agency, Fees, Forms and Who May Get Them

Which Agency Holds the Report

• Unincorporated areas, Goleta, Carpinteria, Solvang, Buellton, Isla Vista, county parks and county buildings: the Sheriff's Records Bureau, (805) 681-4180.
• City of Santa Barbara: the Santa Barbara Police Department Records Bureau, (805) 897-2355, including reports taken by the Santa Barbara Airport Police, whose Airport Police page sends copy requests to the city police.
• City of Santa Maria: the Santa Maria Police Department Records Bureau, (805) 928-3781, extension 2590.
• City of Lompoc: the Lompoc Police Department Records Bureau, (805) 736-2341.
• City of Guadalupe: the Guadalupe Police Department, (805) 343-2112.
• UC Santa Barbara property, on and off campus: the UCSB Police Records Unit, (805) 893-3886.
• Highway 101 and the other state highways: the CHP office for the stretch of road, the Santa Barbara Area office in Goleta, (805) 967-1234, the Buellton Area office, (805) 688-5551, or the Santa Maria Area office, (805) 349-8728.

The Sheriff's Records Bureau

Call the Records Bureau at (805) 681-4180 to confirm a report is ready; a report usually takes 7 to 10 days to be finished by the deputy and approved by a sergeant. The request form on the Request Copy of a Report page goes by email to records@sbsheriff.org, by fax to (805) 681-5346, by mail to P.O. Box 6427, Santa Barbara, CA 93160-6427, or in person at 4434 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Public Records Act requests go through the Sheriff's online portal or to CPRARequests@sbsheriff.org, by its Records Bureau page.

• Report copies: $15 for up to 10 pages, 10 cents for each page after that.
• Photos or audio on CD: $25; video on DVD: $40.
• Calls for service: $20. Notarized copy: $15 more.
• Booking photo: $25. Local criminal history: $25. Clearance letter: $37.

Crime reports go to victims, their representatives, their insurers and people who suffered injury or loss, and are withheld when release would endanger a witness or an investigation, when the victim's name is protected, or when the law forbids it, as with child abuse reports. Collision reports go to the drivers, owners, passengers, parents of a minor driver, insurers, people with property damage or civil liability, and their lawyers. Juvenile reports go to a parent only when their child is the only juvenile in the report; anyone else petitions the presiding judge of the Juvenile Court.

The Sheriff's online reporting system takes reports online for incidents in its own jurisdiction, the contract cities, the unincorporated areas, county parks and county buildings, with a tracking number at once and the official report, with a report number, emailed after approval. For a deputy, the non-emergency number is (805) 683-2724, day and night.

Santa Barbara Police Department Reports

The Records Bureau at 215 East Figueroa Street, two supervisors and eleven records specialists, handles report requests, enters restraining orders, signs off corrected citations and sends cases to the District Attorney and the courts. Its Records Bureau page gives the lobby hours in force since June 1, 2026, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and the records line, (805) 897-2355. The department prefers requests through its public records portal, but takes them in person or by phone at (805) 897-2358, and aims to answer within 10 days.

• Public records: 20 cents a page, free when sent electronically.
• A police report: on the request form on the department's police report page, signed as the party of interest, with a government photo ID; a representative brings an authorization letter and the subject's ID, and a juvenile's parent or guardian requests the juvenile's report. Open investigations may be withheld.
• A collision report: $25 at the station, or online through LexisNexis with a convenience fee, using the collision date and the report number as the year plus five digits.
• Paper copies are paid by check to the City of Santa Barbara, or by card for charges over $10.

Chief Kelly Gordon has led the department since September 19, 2022, with two assistant chiefs over the Field Operations and the Investigative and Internal Operations divisions, by the chief's page. The department's annual report to the Fire and Police Commission for 2023 counts 47,232 calls for service answered in person, 3,989 arrests and 4,078 traffic stops in 2023. Its online reporting page takes reports of minor crimes with no suspect, and warns that a false report is a crime under Penal Code 148.5; crashes on the freeway go to the CHP at (805) 967-1234. Reported crimes are mapped on the Community Crime Map, with Compstat reports posted monthly from 2019 through December 2023.

Santa Maria Police Department Reports

The department is at 1111 West Betteravia Road, Santa Maria, CA 93455, with a lobby open 24 hours and a Records Bureau open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., (805) 928-3781, extension 2590, pdrecordsrequest@cityofsantamaria.org, by the Santa Maria Police Department page and its questions page. Public records requests to the city are answered within 10 days under Government Code 7922.535, with fees from the city's 2025 fee schedule, on the city's Public Records Requests page.

• Vehicle releases: $230 for the paperwork plus the tow yard's fees, by appointment, pdrecords@cityofsantamaria.org.
• Property pickup: by appointment at extension 2301, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Live Scan and fingerprint cards: by appointment on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; a card is $50.
• Someone arrested and cited: the Watch Commander, extension 2297. The department has no jail.

Chief Christopher Williams took office on April 28, 2025, succeeding Marc Schneider, by the city's announcement of April 21, 2025; the department has 200 positions and a $54 million budget, the largest of the city's ten departments. The city's notice of May 2024 reported Part I crimes down 28 percent in 2023 from 2022 and down 30 percent in the first four months of 2024, which the department credited in part to license plate readers deployed since January 2022. Its Police News page posts critical incident briefings.

Lompoc, UCSB and the College Police

• Lompoc Police Department, 107 Civic Center Plaza: a written request on the department's form, lpdrecords@ci.lompoc.ca.us, free by email and 20 cents a page on paper, answered within 10 days; its officers have worn body cameras since March 21, 2024. The Lompoc guide has the full rules.
• UCSB Police Records Unit, Public Safety Building 574, (805) 893-3886, records@police.ucsb.edu, weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: a written request, $10 a report payable to the UC Regents, within about 10 days; crime reports go to the victim, an authorized representative or an insurer, collision reports to the parties, and victims of domestic violence and identity theft pay nothing, by its Records Unit page. It posts a Daily Crime and Fire Log every business day.
• Allan Hancock College police: a daily crime log updated every other business day on its Clery Act page, with the 2026 Annual Security Report; (805) 347-7557. Santa Barbara City College posts its Annual Security Report page and daily crime log.

Crash Reports From the CHP

The CHP Santa Barbara Area office at 6465 Calle Real, Goleta, open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., covers Highway 101 from the Ventura County line to Gaviota, Highway 154 from State Street to Paradise Road and Highway 150, and the unincorporated areas around them, by its office page; the Buellton and Santa Maria Area offices cover the north county, by the CHP office list. A driver, passenger, owner, parent of a minor or legal guardian can get a CHP report at any CHP office, or by mail with form CHP 190 and a copy of a photo ID. The CHP charges $10 for up to 25 pages, $20 for 26 to 50, $30 for 51 to 75 and $40 for 76 to 100, by check or money order, no cards; the rules are on the CHP 190 page.

Officer Misconduct and Use-of-Force Files

Since January 1, 2019, under Senate Bill 1421, records of a police officer's use of a firearm or of force causing great bodily injury, sustained findings of sexual assault and sustained findings of dishonesty are public records in California, and under Senate Bill 16, signed in 2021 with its four new categories disclosable from January 2023, so are sustained findings of unreasonable or excessive force, of failing to intervene against another officer's excessive force, of prejudice or discrimination, and of an unlawful arrest or search; complaints are kept for at least five years and sustained misconduct for fifteen. The Attorney General's statement on Senate Bill 1421 confirms the law reaches records made before 2019. The Santa Barbara Police Department's training bulletin on Senate Bill 16 of October 2021 lists the categories, the 45-day deadline for release and the rule that only the direct cost of copies may be charged. Requests go to each department as Public Records Act requests: the Sheriff through its portal or CPRARequests@sbsheriff.org, the Santa Barbara police through their portal, the Santa Maria police through the City Clerk.

The Sheriff's policy manual, a Lexipol manual of 758 pages dated April 8, 2024, is posted in full, as are its custody manuals and its administrative investigation manual; the Santa Barbara police post their policies, procedures and training documents from the department's home page, and the Airport Police post their patrol policy manual.

What the Law Allows

Under the California Public Records Act an agency must answer a request within 10 days, with up to 14 more in unusual circumstances, and may charge only the direct cost of copies. Investigation files can be withheld, but the basic facts of an incident and of an arrest are public, and victims, people injured and their insurers have a right to more. A crime is reported to the police agency where it happened, not to the District Attorney, whose questions page makes the exceptions consumer fraud and environmental crimes; the District Attorney's own records are requested at DAPublicrecords@countyofsb.org, and other county departments' through the county's Public Records Center. When a case is closed, property is released by the agency that holds it, two weeks or more after the District Attorney sends the release.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a police report in Santa Barbara County?

From the agency whose officer took it: the Sheriff at (805) 681-4180 for the unincorporated county and Goleta, Carpinteria, Solvang and Buellton; the Santa Barbara police at (805) 897-2355; the Santa Maria police at (805) 928-3781, extension 2590; the Lompoc police at (805) 736-2341; the CHP for the highways.

How much does a police report cost in Santa Barbara County?

The Sheriff charges $15 for up to 10 pages; the Santa Barbara police nothing by email and 20 cents a page on paper, with $25 for a collision report; the UCSB police $10; the CHP $10 for up to 25 pages.

Can I file a police report online in Santa Barbara County?

Yes, with the Sheriff for its own areas, and with the Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Lompoc police for minor crimes with no suspect. Emergencies and crimes in progress go to 911.

How do I get a Santa Barbara County officer's misconduct or use-of-force records?

By a Public Records Act request to the department under Senate Bills 1421 and 16, which make those records public, including records from before 2019.

Who has my crash report if it happened on Highway 101?

The CHP: the Santa Barbara Area office in Goleta, (805) 967-1234, from the Ventura County line to Gaviota, and the Buellton or Santa Maria Area office farther north. Any CHP office can get the report for you.

How long does a police report request take?

The Sheriff says a report takes 7 to 10 days to be finalized; the Santa Barbara police aim to answer within 10 days; the UCSB police allow 10 days.