As the Morgan Hill Police Department is now officially fully
staffed for the first time in three years, more eyes and ears on
the streets will be bad news for criminals attempting to break the
law in Morgan Hill.
As the Morgan Hill Police Department is now officially fully staffed for the first time in three years, more eyes and ears on the streets will be bad news for criminals attempting to break the law in Morgan Hill.
Last week, on Aug. 15, two new officers – Jason Broyer and Joshua Norris – were sworn in, joining new officers Jeff Brandon and Joe Burdick in the department’s field training program. The department now has its full force of officers.
“These recent hires bring us to the 33 officers which is our allotment,” MHPD Chief Bruce Cumming said Monday. “This is the first time in three years we have been fully staffed. A lot of people have left, we’ve had three people leave recently. While we haven’t been able to replace the level of experience we’ve lost, some of these new officers do have prior law enforcement experience.”
Cumming is also pleased with the way the two newest officers received their training.
“They put themselves through the academy; that’s a whole year of Saturdays and Sundays,” Cumming said. “It impressed me, that level of dedication.”
Both men worked other jobs while attending the academy, Cumming said, Broyer at a Safeway store in Hollister and Norris as a Presidio police officer.
The department benefits not only from the commitment of these officers, said Cumming, but also financially.
“A lot of these people putting themselves through the academy, we’d be foolish not to hire them,” he said. “If we put them through, it’s a six-month period, and they are paid at a trainee rate. I’ve figured with the trainee pay and academy costs, it costs the department approximately $30,000. By these people putting themselves through, we are saving a big chunk of money.”
Burdick also put himself through the academy, Cumming said, graduating May 18 and joining the MHPD the following week.
All four officers started off in the department’s field training program, which lasts at least 12 weeks but can extend longer, if necessary, added Cumming.
A new dispatcher was also sworn-in on Aug. 15. She is Idalia Echegoyen, a Morgan Hill resident, who previously worked for Comcast as a sales representative, Cumming said.
“She has excellent public service skills, she’s used to dealing with the public,” she said. “She’s bilingual, writing and speaking Spanish. She’s a great addition to our staff.”
Having a full staff enables the department to conduct more concentrated crime prevention and detection efforts, including the type of suppression unit currently in place through Labor Day weekend.
“Without question, it makes a difference having a full staff,” Cumming said. “These suppression units are a big part of my reorganization plan. Things are beginning to fall into place. We plan to address the traffic issue later in the year, more on a full-time basis.”
The current suppression effort is proving to be successful, said Cumming.
“It’s going really well,” he said. “There are a lot of people out there that need to be taken into custody, particularly those with meth problems and parolees that are wanted. We had one last week, an incident at the library, and he was a parolee at large. Parolees in any community – a lot of them are doing crime in that community, not all, but some do. A lot of them are also dangerous.”
Officers working suppression do not respond to calls for service but look for suspicious circumstances, talk to people in the community and focus on bringing in criminals.
“The units are working, it’s good because it gives officers the freedom to follow-up on things, the chance to be more proactive,” Cumming said. “It gives us the opportunity to let the criminals know we’re out there.”
