City of Morgan Hill Public Safety Master Plan

Although MHPD’s technology adequately meets its needs, staff is seeking additional technology to enhance delivery of service. MHPD personnel are deployed with VieVu body cameras. As the use of these devices becomes more prevalent and their recordings become more sought after by prosecutors, defense attorneys, media, and the public, storage and processing requests will become an increasing issue. MHPD is seeking storage and redaction solutions for this data heavy technology. Technology in general, and certainly in law enforcement, is in a constant state of innovative change. There are many new applications for field and investigative use being deployed throughout the country. They range from simple smartphone applications to significant software and hardware systems requiring considerable capital expenditure. Few agencies can afford all of the state-of-the- art technology available. Agencies must review the options available and assess the benefit to their department. MHPD management staff has identified technology that will improve the department’s efficiency and service to the community such as Smart Justice, which provides “Google” search functionality to law enforcement databases, solutions for prisoner monitoring via a touchscreen system, and laptops for Special Operations staff. A GIS mapping enhancement is also an improvement being sought by the department. Identifying priorities from these options and a strategy to seek necessary funding should be a goal of department management. Temporary Holding Facility The MHPD operates a temporary holding facility as defined by Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations. Under state law, a temporary holding facility is one that may hold a person no longer than 24 hours. It is usually operated by a town or city for the temporary detention of persons pending release, transfer to another facility, or appearance in court. Persons who need to be detained longer than 24 hours shall be transferred to a jail facility. MHPD policy limits detention in the facility for no more than six hours. MHPD’s lockup facility, located in the police building, has three adult holding cells, two sobering cells, and two secure juvenile holding cells and has a rated prisoner capacity of eleven. Operation of a holding facility exposes any government entity to significant issues of potential liability. The city of Morgan Hill and its police department must continually monitor the environment to ensure compliance with minimum jail standards and prisoner safety. The MHPD jail administrator is the Chief of Police and the jail manager is currently a sergeant. MHPD utilizes a civilian multi-service officer (MSO) as the jailer. The state-required minimum staffing is one certified jailer on-duty when the jail is occupied. Custodial personnel who are responsible for supervising inmates in, and who are supervisors of, a court holding or temporary holding facility shall complete eight hours of specialized training. All concerned MHPD staff successfully completed the training and passed the certification tests for 2015. The MHPD jail policy Recommendation:  Identify technology priorities and develop a strategy to seek necessary funding.

Police Operations and Data Analysis Report, Morgan Hill, California

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