Despite have lowest officer to residents ratio, city has the highest arrest rate
By Dylan Kral and Marty Cheek
Morgan Hill residents can sleep soundly knowing they live in a community where public safety is a high priority. Many of them will
Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing meets a youngster at the 2012 National Night Out. This year’s event will be held Aug. 8 on the Third Street Promenade. Photo by Bruce Dudley
meet with public safety employees attending this year’s National Night Out Aug. 5 to raise community-police awareness.
Last year, the Morgan Hill Police Department led all of Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies with 42 percent of the reports officers took resulting in arrest. Since 2007, Morgan Hill’s crime rate has dropped 30 percent, according to a recent report by the Morgan Hill Police Department.
“Public safety in Morgan Hill is obviously a key priority for our council,” said Police Chief David Swing. “It’s a key priority for our community, and, of course, for our police and fire departments.”
Public safety is not just the responsibility of the police department, it is also the community’s responsibility, he said.
Morgan Hill is a community that supports this concept. Volunteer-based programs such as the Community Emergency Response Team, Community Law Enforcement Foundation, Volunteers in Policing and the Learning for Life Explorer Program for local students between the ages of 14 and 21 all play a key role in keeping the city safe.
CERT offers free emergency preparedness classes for residents. CLEF raises funds for the police department to pay for equipment and programs.
“Our Volunteer in Policing program is a great way to stay engaged,” Swing said. “The VIP program serves as a product of our Citizens Police Academy, another great resource. Our VIP program is also a huge force multiplier. We’re able to do more because of our volunteers.”
For example, the police department volunteers provide services such as vacation home checks and help with traffic control at special events.
“Morgan Hill is a safe town all the way around and also when compared to other cities of similar size,” Swing said. “We have one of the lowest crime rates in the county. But we’re also a very busy department, and one of the most proactive departments in terms of arrests and self-initiated activity.”
The police chief sees more threats of crime committed by people coming from outside the community. For example, criminals are often using Morgan Hill hotels as places for illegal activities. Police officers last year responded to a local hotel when they learned a wanted felon was staying there. The suspect was contacted and found to be in possession of $700 in counterfeit money and methamphetamine.
Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing talks with dispatchers Lynette Madruga and Idalia Young. Photo by Marty Cheek
“We’re working diligently to create a new program that’s designed to make sure our hotels stay safe as well and people don’t come and stay in our hotels and use them as a base to commit crime,” Swing said.
Morale in the department is “upbeat and positive,” the chief said. That’s indicated by the number of laterals, or officers from other law enforcement agencies who apply to transfer to Morgan Hill. Many of these laterals are referred by Morgan Hill police officers they meet professionally.
Community morale for public safety is also high in Morgan Hill. One indication of this is the solid relationship the MHPD has with community nonprofits like CLEF, which has its volunteers meet with police administrators each month to get to know many of the officers and non-sworn personnel.
“We have helped fund some of the MHPD’s community outreach programs, support the Volunteers in Policing program and participate each year in the Public Safety Day and National Night Out events,” said CLEF President Sharron Daniel. “These events are a great way for the public to interact with the officers as well as learn about different opportunities to get involved.”
More than most cities, Morgan Hill has a greater community involvement with the police department, which enhances the overall quality of public safety. Much of this is due to how available police officers make themselves in reaching out to the community through its various public programs and events, Daniel said.
“The MHPD asks for public support to act as the eyes and ears of our community and has made it clear what a difference it makes in fighting crime,” she said. “They make the community feel a part of the solution, a part of the team.”
Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate agrees, pointing out that volunteers in CLEF, CERT, VIP and the Explorers group enhance efforts to make the city safer. “When you get the community involved, you leverage so much more, and that’s why the police department is as productive and efficient as it is,” he said. “Not everyone in the community can get involved because they have children or jobs that consume them. But the ones that do get involved really get involved. They are let’s-get-the-job-done kind of people, we-can-do-that kind of people.”
With 37 sworn officers, the MHPD has the lowest number of officers per thousand of any city in Santa Clara County, Tate said, but it gets the best effectiveness and efficiency from the police department with the officers it does have.
Public safety, which includes a contract with CalFire for emergency services in Morgan Hill, makes up 80 percent of the annual city budget, Swing said.
“We are a 24/7, 365-day operation,” he said. “When the phone rings, we have to go, and we do go … We are very cost conscious, but more than that I would say we are value conscious. We want to make sure the services that we provide as a police and fire department add value to the overall well being and health of the city.”
One way the MHPD has increased its effectiveness over the past three and a half years that Swing has been chief is by starting new programs such as predictive analytics and revamping its school resource officer program in Morgan Hill’s middle and high schools.
A few months ago, with funding from CLEF, the department also re-started its K-9 unit, which Swing believes is an essential part of successful policing.
“A successful K-9 unit builds the community because dogs are a great way to help break barriers,” he said. “Also, criminals are becoming more sophisticated and they’re better at hiding contraband, especially narcotics. So a successful canine and handler are able to work together as a team to identify narcotics.”
During one recent search of a vehicle, the dog found no narcotics but discovered $40,000 hidden by the suspect that couldn’t be found humans.
“The city itself realized about $18,000 out of that seizure,” Swing said. “Canines are a successful component to policing today.”
