Encinitas sheriff and fire chiefs report drops in property and person crimes, outline enforcement and safety priorities

Captain Watts of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department told the Encinitas City Council on Oct. 15 that year‑to‑date crimes against persons are down about 12% compared with 2024 and crimes against property have declined about 24%.

Watts attributed the decreases to increased deputy presence and targeted patrols, and highlighted a 67% rise in deputy‑initiated activities — proactive work such as foot patrols, downtown details and undercover retail operations — that he said gives deputies time to prevent incidents rather than simply respond to them.

“As our calls for service decrease, then my expectation is that our deputy‑initiated activities increase,” Watts said. He also reported declines in burglaries (about 30%) and vehicle thefts (about 20%), and said the station has used measures such as unmarked “ghost” cars and increased night patrols to deter out‑of‑area theft crews. Watts described enforcement of municipal quality‑of‑life codes this year, listing arrests and citations for camping, vehicle‑dwelling and similar offenses.

Watts emphasized continued enforcement against impaired driving: “We are gonna take 0 tolerance on that,” he said, and noted the county board of supervisors must approve two additional deputies funded by the city for DUI enforcement before they are onboarded.

Deputy Fire Chief Jorge Sanchez and Fire Chief David Ogilvie gave the Encinitas Fire Department update, reporting 6,114 total responses Jan. 1–Sept. 30, 2025, with 72% (about 4,406) medical calls. The department committed more than 11,000 unit responses when engines and ambulances are counted. Average overall response time reported was about 7 minutes, 11 seconds; the 90th‑percentile metrics and unit‑hour utilization for ambulances were discussed as continuing challenges due to mutual‑aid dynamics.

Sanchez outlined mutual‑aid exchanges: Encinitas provided several hundred hours of aid to neighboring agencies and received a larger number of hours in return, largely from ambulances assigned by the county ambulance contractor. He said unit‑hour utilization data will guide future conversations with the county and ambulance provider to improve ambulance availability within Encinitas.

On prevention and community engagement, Watts and Sanchez both described school outreach, downtown walking patrols and community events as part of a mix of enforcement and service. Public commenters praised the quick interagency response to a recent high‑profile traffic crash and urged continued emphasis on enforcement and education to reduce late‑night crashes and DUI incidents.

The council asked for follow‑up on specific data requests voiced during public comment: disaggregation of citations (how many citations per incident versus per stop), and whether citation records can be analyzed for resident versus nonresident drivers. Watts said the traffic division will attempt to quantify residency from citation records for future reporting.

Ending note: both the Sheriff’s command and the Fire Department said they will continue proactive patrols, targeted enforcement efforts (including monthly “max enforcement” days that have brought additional motor units), and community education programs.