During the 2020 shelter-in-place order, crime looked differently than it did in 2019.

By Shane Palsgrove

Shane Palsgrove

Crime trends and patterns are sporadic and change constantly. While it may feel like there has been a drastic rise in crime this year, as is the case in some cities, rest assured that Morgan Hill remains one of the safest cities in the county. The Morgan Hill Police Department continues to lead the way in developing innovative ways to address and respond to the changing crime trends in Morgan Hill.

During the 2020 shelter-in-place order, crime looked differently than it did in 2019. Commercial burglaries increased while residential burglaries decreased. And the number of stolen vehicles drastically increased while general theft drastically decreased. Overall crime in 2020 was not lower than previous years — even during quarantine — but the trends were less public and may have contributed to the perception that crime had decreased.

Since the end of quarantine, crime trends have shifted again, but crime levels have remained fairly consistent with population growth. The specific crime spikes during 2021 include an increase in vehicle side shows, retail burglaries, thefts of high-value bicycles, and catalytic converters. Sixty-four percent of the city’s crimes are committed by people not living in Morgan Hill. The Morgan Hill Police Department is continuously working on addressing, resolving, and interrupting these crimes.

We continuously analyze our crime trends and look for best practices and methods to disrupt them while we remain committed to the principles of community policing. We have recently launched several innovative programs leveraging our resources and the services and expertise of several vital partners to address the crucial issues impacting our community:

  • Flock Safety: Using state-of-the-art technology to identify stolen vehicles within our city. Since the implementation of this technology in September, officers have recovered 51 stolen vehicles in Morgan Hill compared to 12 during the same time frame in 2020.
  • Mobile Crisis Response Team: In partnership with the County Behavioral Health Services, one detective and a licensed mental health clinician work as a team to respond to, screen and assess individuals experiencing a mental health crises. The team provides crisis intervention and referrals to support services and follow-up.
  • Crime Prevention Unit: This recently formed unit works to create open and honest dialogue with neighborhoods to improve safety by engaging residents to participate in crime prevention efforts. This is achieved by sharing information about crime issues and developing ideas and tips on how to address them. The Crime Prevention Unit holds community meetings and provides presentations on a variety of crime topics.
  • Youth Diversion Program: This program is designed to provide eligible youth offenders with an alternative to entering the justice system while still holding them accountable. The department’s Youth Diversion Specialist works with the South County Deputy District Attorney to identify youth to refer to the program.
  • Police Cadet Ambassador Program: In the summer 2021, our Police Cadet Ambassadors provided a presence downtown on weekend evenings to interact with patrons and answer their questions as well as deter crime and report suspicious activity.

During the 2022 year, we will be implementing these programs:

  • Psychiatric Emergency Response Team: This team will expand the MCRT by pairing a specially trained law enforcement officer with a licensed Santa Clara County Behavioral Health clinician who will be assigned to Morgan Hill 40 hours a week. Together, they will provide crisis resolution and proactive outreach to connect people to appropriate behavioral health services.
  • Housing Services Division Homeless Specialist: Grant funded, this position will work one-on-one with people who are unhoused to conduct assessments, housing, and employment and identify services and resources countywide.

Currently, we are down nine positions, which significantly impacts our  ability to respond to crime. Furthermore, crime tends to increase with an increase in population. In the past 30 years, the population has grown by about 23,000 people — and continues to increase steadily each year. While our population has grown by 50 percent since 1991, the number of police officers has increased only from 38 to 42. There is a pressing need to evaluate our staffing and service levels in coordination with other city priorities to maintain our programs and remain one of the safest cities in Santa Clara County.

The success of the Morgan Hill Police Department is undoubtedly because of the trust and support we receive from our Morgan Hill community. We thank you for being our partner in keeping our community safe.

Shane Palsgrove

Shane Palsgrove is the police chief for Morgan Hill. He wrote this column for Morgan Hill Life.