City of Morgan Hill Public Safety Master Plan

General Observations 

Overall, CPSM was impressed by the professionalism of the Morgan Hill Police Department. We found the department to be a well-managed, service-oriented department that strives to provide outstanding customer service and engage the community. At all levels of the department, in both the sworn and civilian ranks, we noted a workforce committed to creating a safer and more secure community. This was reflected in data from our workload study, which showed that 45 percent of all workload activity for 2015 was self-generated by the department’s officers.  FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data show that Morgan Hill enjoys a relatively low violent crime rate at approximately 60 percent below the statewide average, while its property crime rate is 40 percent below the state’s average. However, given recent changes in state law and sentencing guidelines for a variety of offenses, the city should anticipate increased criminal activity, particularly as it relates to property crimes.  In comparison to studies conducted by CPSM of other law enforcement agencies, Morgan Hill’s crime rate and service demands (calls for service) fall below the other studies’ averages, as does the department’s sworn staffing levels. However, the Morgan Hill Police Department is more responsive to its community’s needs than some other departments. This is reflected in the fact that averages from these studies show that MHPD deploys modestly more resources and spends somewhat more time on calls for service and other activities than average. As well, out-of-service time, which includes administrative duties such as report writing and special projects, was found to be extensive. As a result, the workload hours for MHPD officers reflect higher-than-average numbers.  One area of concern noted was that of lengthy response times to calls for service, particularly to high-priority calls. CPSM will address this concern at various stages of the report, but it is believed that the practice of writing police reports in the station rather than in the field, and the number of administrative tasks assigned, are significant contributors to lengthy response times. ( When made aware of this concern, the department immediately began to take steps to identify causes of reported delays and to take action to correct issues related to this matter. ) recommendations involve the creation of a Professional Standards Unit, and secondarily, removing some administrative duties from patrol supervision to enable more direct oversight of field operations. These needs will be addressed in the list of recommendations that follows as well as in the reporting on the Divisions/Sections beginning in Section 3.  In virtually all studies conducted by CPSM, lack of communication is cited as a major organizational impediment. That sentiment was expressed in Morgan Hill as well. In some cases, the concern raised is justifiable, and in other cases, those who express the concern have subjected themselves to selective awareness. In any event, open, constructive communication is vital to any organization. In the case of Morgan Hill, the department is to be commended for establishing a Communications Committee designed to provide updates on organization progress/change. Nonetheless, several line personnel indicated that the  CPSM believes that only modest staffing changes are required. Specifically, our

Police Operations and Data Analysis Report, Morgan Hill, California

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