It’s good to see that the Morgan Hill Police Department hasn’t
thrown its arms up in the air, claiming it’s futile to fight rising
crime rates without more able-bodied officers on the street.
Instead, the local badges have made an effort to reach out
regionally to other department and agencies in a
strength-in-numbers approach to policing.
It’s good to see that the Morgan Hill Police Department hasn’t thrown its arms up in the air, claiming it’s futile to fight rising crime rates without more able-bodied officers on the street. Instead, the local badges have made an effort to reach out regionally to other department and agencies in a strength-in-numbers approach to policing.
And it appears to be working.
In Morgan Hill, our police force hasn’t significantly grown in the last 15 years, though the number and sophistication of the criminals and crimes they face have sky-rocketed with the growing population. The constant influence and impact of local gangs, the domino effect of methamphetamine and other drugs fueling property crime to feed habits, and the rise of cyber-crime and identity theft in our digital world have all made our cops’ jobs harder. Yet the expense of increasing benefits and salaries costs, has made it difficult for cities like Morgan Hill to expand their police force during tough financial times.
Administrators in the MHPD realize that crime doesn’t pay attention to artificial boundaries such as city lines, even if their jurisdiction does. Knowing that criminals in Morgan Hill have associates in nearby Gilroy and Hollister, our police department has partnered with these other agencies and the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team to share resources and information on the largest threats to South Valley. Just because a criminal isn’t known in Morgan Hill, doesn’t mean they haven’t drawn police attention in another nearby city.
Earlier this month, the regional policing effort resulted in the arrest of a Mongol Motorcycle Gang leader at his Morgan Hill home, allegedly with a large stash of drugs and an even larger cache of guns and other weapons. The Mongols are prevalent in both Gilroy and Hollister – responsible for a tense moment during last year’s Hollister Independence Day Rally when a large group of them strutted their gang colors in front of the notorious Hell’s Angels – and police have grown concerned a confrontation may be on the horizon. The new approach also brought in four arrests for parole violations during a recent sweep with help from Gilroy officers and UNET.
Considering Gilroy and Morgan Hill lead the county with the highest ratios of parolees, and fighting crime is a never-ending battle, this is exactly the type of innovative thinking that will keep our communities as safe as possible.
