New civil grand jury report shows city averaged nearly seven
calls per 1,000 residents
Morgan Hill – A new report by the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury reveals peaceful, family-friendly Morgan Hill leads the county in domestic violence calls.
The new findings, which corroborate a previous domestic violence report issued in February by county health department officials, has drawn more media attention to the city, which local officials believe is unwarranted.
“We look at it from the perspective that more calls to law enforcement agencies is a good thing,” said Erin O’Brien, president of Community Solutions. “To us, we see this is a sign that people are reaching out, that people are aware that help is available to them.”
To compare the rates of calls between cities of varying sizes, the calls are scaled so they can be compared at a rate of 100,000 residents. Morgan Hill led the county with the highest rate of domestic violence calls for service with approximately 642 calls for every 100,000 individuals, followed closely by Campbell with 496 and Gilroy at 492, according to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department report.
Last year, Morgan Hill Police officers responded to 227 domestic violence calls; Gilroy Police officers responded to 232 calls.
“It’s our stance here that we don’t tolerate domestic violence,” Morgan Hill police Cmdr. Joe Sampson said. “However minor the incident, we don’t brush it off or take it for granted. It’s a dangerous crime, not only for the obvious victims, but also for our officers who respond, because it is a crime of passion, basically. Emotions are running high.”
MHPD averages between 55 and 60 percent closure rates – closed cases – for domestic violence cases.
The report from the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury filed on June 6 focuses on how officers handle domestic violence calls. The Public Health Department statistics in the report have focused county media attention on Morgan Hill.
“There are two factors to consider,” said Community Solutions Assistant Program Director Perla Flores. “I’m not sure what criteria other law enforcement agencies are using, what calls they classify as domestic violence. If someone violates a restraining order, if there is emotional abuse, do they call those domestic violence? There is a whole gamut of different calls, and the Morgan Hill Police Department is very good at identifying all these nuances.”
The other factor, Flores said, underscores what O’Brien said.
“Domestic violence calls historically are underreported,” she said. “One out of every 10 domestic violence incidents is reported, that’s a typical statistic. So I see a large number of calls as a positive thing, that residents feel safer reporting to law enforcement, and that they know services are available to them.”
Community Solutions helps house approximately 77 women and 85 children each year who are attempting to escape their violent pasts. The agency also provides bilingual advocates for domestic violence victims.
These advocates, however, cannot act as translators for law enforcement agencies because they must keep their interactions with the victims confidential.
One of the findings of the report is that some officers from the 15 agencies surveyed for the report are using children, family or friends of the victim to translate for them when there are language barriers.
Flores said the MHPD does a good job of getting around language barriers.
“We have not had a problem,” she said. “The officers understand that even though the advocate might speak English, she or he cannot translate for them. They usually bring in an officer who can speak Spanish.”
Though domestic violence cuts across all socio-economic, racial and geographic boundaries, Flores said, parts of the community that may be disenfranchised, such as undocumented workers, may be more reluctant to report incidents of domestic violence. Community Solutions has made an effort, she said, along with law enforcement organizations, to reach out to these parts of the South County community.
Gaining trust in the community, particularly with groups difficult to reach or assist, is important, Sampson said.
“Our job is to protect all people,” he added. “We want everyone to know they have someone they can count on.”
MHPD Det. David Swing sits on the South County Domestic Violence Committee with Flores. They meet monthly, and prevention, education and awareness are the focus.
“If there were, as (Gilroy Police) Chief Gregg Giusianna said, one simple factor that causes domestic violence, then we could focus all our resources on solving that problem,” Sampson said. “But it is certainly a multi-faceted problem.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at [email protected].
