City of Morgan Hill Public Safety Master Plan

integrated approach to criminal investigations using a mix of patrol and Special Operations Division resources is sound.

In order to improve its criminal investigations process the MHPD should establish more a more rigorous case management system. The Special Operations Division supervisor must have a frequent report (weekly) of all the cases assigned to each investigator, the status of each case, as well as a running account of the number of cases cleared by type of crime and by individual investigator. Similarly, a process should be established to better manage cases investigated by patrol. The process now is too informal. Cases get assigned to patrol officers and there is no system in place to track and manage those investigations. Clearly, the MHPD is doing a very good job identifying and apprehending offenders as evidenced by the high clearance rate; however, a better job could be done to manage this process more closely on both the Special Operations Division level and the patrol level. Three conclusions can be drawn from this discussion. First, the Special Operations Division, and the department in general, does an excellent job apprehending offenders after they commit crimes. A simple calculation of the crime clearance rates indicates tremendous success in this area. Second, the detective bureau should use this information more deliberately and more rigorously to track the effectiveness of the department as a whole as well as the effectiveness of each detective. Understanding clearance rates in a frequent and ongoing fashion would allow the department to manage the investigative function even more effectively. It is recommended that a process be established whereby clearance rates are calculated for each major category of crime and for each detective in order to monitor investigative outcomes. Third, in order to support this effort, a distinction must be drawn between cases assigned to detectives and cases assigned to patrol. The Special Operations Division supervisor should manage all follow-up criminal investigations and work closely with the Field Operations commander to ensure cases assigned to patrol are investigated appropriately. The MHPD Special Operations Division deploys one detective assigned to street crimes, narcotics, and gang enforcement. Ordinarily, there are two detectives assigned to this position. The functionality of this assignment is lacking due to the vacancy. It is impossible for one detective to conduct street-level enforcement of any kind. Because of this limitation the detective has been repurposed to assist with the property crime detective as well with other needs of the division. Without a clear understanding of the caseload handled by any of the detectives in Special Operations, assigning an additional detective to assist with property crime investigations seems misdirected. The MHPD should consider either eliminating this street crimes unit altogether or adding an additional detective to fill the vacancy. In its current state, the street crimes enforcement mission is not being fulfilled, and resources are being directed at a function that might not need assistance. The department might be better served by reassigning the investigator assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force (DEATF) to the street crime position.

The Special Operations Division supervisor is also responsible for coordinating special events in the community. Each year the department is responsible for providing necessary police coverage to

Police Operations and Data Analysis Report, Morgan Hill, California

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