Crime

All fireworks are illegal in the city limits, and police and fire officials have adopted a "zero tolerance" policy toward the ignition, sale and possession of the incendiary devices.

A thief or thieves cut a lock and stole a bicycle from the Caltrain parking lot, 17395 Butterfield Boulevard.

Investigators continue to ask the public for help in obtaining more information about the vehicle and the collision.

Morgan Hill Police are investigating two violent incidents downtown that left at least two people injured last weekend, according to authorities.

Auto burglary A thief or thieves broke into a white Lexus parked at Starbucks, 251 Vineyard Town Center. Stolen from the vehicle were an IBM tablet and a backpack. The crime was reported 5:57am May 24. Theft An adult male stole several candy bars from the Chevron,...

Sheriff’s deputies are asking the public to be on the lookout for a man who exposed himself to a 13-year-old girl at a bus stop in unincorporated Morgan Hill last Thursday. The suspect’s vehicle description matches that of a similar incident reported by Gilroy...

A statewide initiative to ask voters to change portions of three crime-related laws is picking up steam in Santa Clara County.Over the last week and a half, both the Morgan Hill City Council and Gilroy City Council passed support resolutions for a Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018, which would change portions of voter-approved Proposition 47 and 57, as well as Assembly Bill 109, to reclassify current “nonviolent” crimes as “violent” to prevent the early release of inmates convicted of various sex and assault crimes.The initiative also aims to reform the parole system to stop early release of violent felons, expand parolee oversight, strengthen penalties for parole violations, reform theft laws, and expand DNA collection for drug, theft, domestic violence, and other crimes. It is supported by the California Police Chiefs Association, The California District Attorney’s Association, and the Peace Officers Research Association of California.Morgan Hill’s city council is supporting the initiative because they think it supports their top ongoing annual priority for the city: enhancing public safety, according to Morgan Hill Public Information Officer Maureen Tobin.Certain types of crime are on the rise in Morgan Hill, where overall property and violent crime is up 13 percent, in recent years. While city staff and MHPD can’t directly connect the local crime uptick to Props 47 and 57, and AB109, they are convinced that the long-term impact of these laws will be to reduce safety in the community.The Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act will “add more crime types to the list of violent crimes,” Tobin said. These include rape of an unconscious or intoxicated person, shooting into an inhabited dwelling, assault with a firearm or other deadly weapon, solicitation to commit murder and abducting a minor for prostitution.“The crimes listed above are not on the rise; however, the early release of those who have committed heinous acts as (those reclassified by the earlier laws) foretell a future with increasing crime,” Tobin said. “The initiative seeks to prevent future residents from becoming victims of violent crime.”The proposed ballot measure will also “provide some of the necessary sanctions to help hold offenders accountable in custody and post-release, and restore some of the necessary tools that officers to ensure safety,” Tobin said. These tools include conditions of probation that can be imposed years after a defendant is released from prison or jail.  South Valley supportCity and police officials in Gilroy have been hitting the pavement in support of the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act.“The bottom line is I think that if we can find ways to rehabilitate people, that is fantastic. I completely support that,” Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said Tuesday. “The idea of this (initiative) is not aimed at those people. It is aimed at those who do not choose to avail themselves of those opportunities and continue to choose a life of crime. There needs to be consequences to deal with those people.”Gilroy Mayor Roland Velasco spent a few hours Saturday morning at First Street Coffee helping residents collect signatures for the new initiative, which needs 365,880 signatures by August to qualify for the November election. Over 100 signatures were gathered in two hours, he said.Velasco said he supports the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018 because of the ill effects of Prop 47, 57, and AB 109.“It is creating havoc in cities up and down the state,” Velasco said Tuesday. “It is impacting the quality of life of our residents. It is becoming a strain on public safety services.”AB 109, which Governor Jerry Brown signed in 2011, transferred responsibility of supervising certain felony offenders and state prison parolees from state prisons and state parole agents to county jails and probation officers.California voters approved Proposition 47 in November 2014, which reduced certain drug possession felonies to misdemeanors and also required misdemeanor sentencing for petty theft, receiving stolen property, and forging or writing bad checks all to the amount of $950 or less. Prior to Prop 47, the dollar threshold for theft to be considered a felony was $450.“If someone comes into your house and steals something from you, as long as the value is less than $950, if we caught and arrested them we would give them a citation ticket and let them go,” Smithee said. “They could come back and do the same thing and still get the same ticket. It does not matter how many times. The result is never going to be more than getting a ticket and let go again because there is no sanction for how many times something has been done. It is each a separate case.”Morgan Hill city staff reported that the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act would allow local officers to book “serial property thieves” into the county jail, rather than be forced to release them back onto the streets with a citation. The act would also ensure these offenders have the “appropriate restrictions” after their release from custody to help them return to being productive members of society.Former Gilroy Police Officer and current Hollister City Councilman Jim Gillio is another supporter of the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018.“Over the past several years we have had Proposition 47 and Proposition 57 that have essentially, in an administrative way, decriminalized certain crimes,” Gillio said by phone Monday. “Certain violent crimes have been lowered, so you are eligible for early release.”California voters approved Proposition 57 in November 2016, which allowed parole consideration for nonviolent felons, authorized credit-earning opportunities for good behavior, and changed some juvenile prosecution policies.According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Proposition 57 moved up parole consideration for nonviolent offenders who served the full term of a primary offense sentence and demonstrated their release to the community would not pose an unreasonable risk of violence.“The overall intent of both Prop 47 and 57 was to increase the opportunities for rehabilitation and try to minimize mass incarceration, but there were unintended consequences,” Gillio said.The Hollister councilman is currently working with Acting Chief of Police Carlos Reynoso to have a support resolution for the new initiative placed on the next city council meeting on March 5.“I will present it to the city council for their consideration,” Reynoso said. “If passed, all we are asking for is their support in getting this initiative on the ballot and letting the citizens of our community and the state vote on it.”San Benito County Sheriff Darren Thompson, who supports the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018, said he hopes to approach the San Benito County Board of Supervisors in the near future to see if they would support the initiative.“The previous measures, Proposition 47, 57, and AB 109, are designed to reduce state prison population, they are not designed to increase public safety,” Thompson said. “Certainly some adjustments are in order to those original measures.”Velasco said he hopes the initiative will be able to collect enough signatures to go before voters statewide in November.“Hopefully California voters will support this proposition,” he said. “I think it will go a long way in making sure that people who should be locked up, are locked up.”For more information on the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act of 2018, visit www.keepCALsafe.org.

While some types of crime are on the rise in Morgan Hill in the last year, the 2016 MHPD Annual Report shows the city remains safe, as the most serious categories of offenses are in decline.And while Morgan Hill, like other cities and counties in California, is challenged by recent state reforms that make it harder for local jurisdictions to keep potentially violent suspects in check, Police Chief David Swing said the local department is making strides in keeping the community safe by increasing engagement with the public and being more proactive in identifying criminals and preventing threats.“The report illustrates the work being done, and the quality and quantity of work being done by the men and women in this department, and I’m very proud and honored to be able to lead them,” Swing said.The latest MHPD Annual Report was distributed to the public last week. The document gives an overview of what federal authorities classify as “part 1” crimes—which as a whole are decreasing in Morgan Hill—and it lists some of the department’s accomplishments, new initiatives and other statistics.Part 1 crimes “are defined as offenses that are more serious crimes by nature and/or volume,” the report states. These include theft, vehicle theft, burglary and violent crimes such as homicide and assault. In Morgan Hill, theft makes up the highest category (49 percent, or 418 incidents) of all Part 1 crimes, followed by assault (22 percent). Burglary and vehicle theft each account for 13 percent of the local Part 1 volume. Robbery makes up about 3 percent of the total, or 21 incidents. There were no homicides in 2016, and three reported incidents of rape.  Most cities in Santa Clara County, including Morgan Hill, have seen a decrease in Part 1 crimes when 2016 totals are compared to those of 2015, the report states.“We enjoy a relatively low crime rate in Morgan Hill,” Swing said. “Our residents are served by a group of dedicated professionals, many of whom live in South County—so they have a personal commitment” to local safety.However, Swing added it is “concerning” to see increases in residential burglaries, which are also on the rise in other Bay Area cities. These incidents are up to 111 in 2016 from 100 in 2015, but are down from a peak of 164 incidents in 2013.Another growing trend in Morgan Hill is the recovery of firearms from criminal suspects, Swing said. So far in 2017, officers have confiscated 11 guns as evidence during traffic stops or searches. That’s on pace to significantly surpass the 19 firearms recovered in 2015, and 18 confiscated in 2016. In 2014, MHPD officers recovered seven firearms from “people arrested for other crimes.”“Clearly, the increased presence of firearms is a real threat to our community, and to our officers’ safety,” Swing said.And in yet another growing trend, more suspects arrested in Morgan Hill are from other communities, Swing said. In 2016, he said more than half the people arrested here list their residence in another city.Reforms make it harderSome new state laws approved in recent years make it more difficult for local police departments to reduce crime in California. These include Proposition 47, which was approved by the voters in 2014 and reclassified certain nonviolent felonies as misdemeanors.This requires local police to issue citations for theft suspects, for example, who would have “earned a trip to county jail” before Prop 47 was approved, Swing said.The chief listed two of many examples of how this has impacted safety in Morgan Hill in recent months. In an incident earlier this year, officers contacted a suspect in possession of drugs—once a felony, but a misdemeanor under Prop 47. An officer gave the suspect a ticket and let him go.A little while later, the suspect walked into downtown Morgan Hill, and tried to snatch a purse from a customer who was eating on the outdoor patio of a busy restaurant, Swing said. A witness gave chase to the suspect, and police caught up to him and made an arrest.“Pre-Prop 47, that person having lunch in Morgan Hill doesn’t experience the theft of her purse,” because officers would have detained him for the drug possession, Swing said.Another state law that has allegedly made it easier for criminals is AB109, an effort passed in 2011 to reduce the state’s prison population by moving repeat, nonviolent offenders to county jails. Many law enforcement experts have argued this law has placed more criminals—including some violent ones—back on the streets.Less is known about the impact of Proposition 57, which was just approved by voters in November 2016. This proposition makes it easier for judges to release nonviolent criminals on parole.Swing added that at least one study, conducted by Stanford University, ties a statewide increase in auto thefts to these state reforms. In Morgan Hill, police are seeing more vehicle thefts, as well as stolen cars being used in other crimes.Traffic and other numbersTraffic accidents, often overlooked as a public safety issue, increased by a big margin in Morgan Hill in 2016. Police and emergency personnel responded to 283 accidents in 2016, compared to 209 in both 2014 and 2015, according to the annual report.Strategies to decrease the number of collisions, implemented by the MHPD traffic unit and patrol officers, include “directed traffic enforcement, responding to traffic complaints, community outreach campaigns and safe driving education,” the report reads.The annual report also notes that 50 percent of all police reports filed by MHPD officers result in an arrest. That percentage is higher than Gilroy, Palo Alto, Campbell and other similar size cities in Santa Clara County, according to the report.Engagement is keyThe 2016 annual report touts the effectiveness of some new programs instituted at MHPD in the last couple years.One of these is the reinstatement of the department’s Street Crimes Team, which was approved by the council earlier this year. This unit has just recently sprung back into action, tackling gang activity and violent crime, as well as “quality of life issues throughout the community,” Swing said.The Street Crimes Unit is also addressing local homelessness, Swing added. These officers will work with other local agencies and nonprofits to connect homeless people to services that can eventually move them into long-term housing.The report lists other community engagement efforts MHPD has participated in over the last year: Shop With A Cop, Safe Trick or Treat, Coffee With a Cop (next installment coming up May 19 at Peet’s on Cochrane Road) and vacation home checks performed by the department’s Volunteers In Policing program.

A tragic date in the history of Crimean Tatar people is drawing close – an anniversary of deportation of Crimean Tatars. This tragedy in its inhumanity can be equated to genocide of the indigenous people of Crimea. By an order of the leader of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin on May 18, 1944 all Crimean Tatars were loaded into freight cars and removed to Central Asia and Siberia. Those who offered resistance and refused to leave their homes were shot in sight, others, who removed in the appointed time, were loaded into barges and flooded in the Black Sea. Totally about 200 thousand Crimean Tatars dead or were deported at that time.

Violent crime, robbery, burglary and auto theft are on the rise in Morgan Hill over the last year, according to a recent report from Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office. However, a new countywide initiative to combat these trends—which are mirrored in other nearby cities—is being implemented by the D.A.On April 12, Rosen issued the office’s first report ever that compiles crime data from county law enforcement and judicial agencies, as well as figures from individual cities located within Santa Clara County.Spurred by this 32-page analysis, Rosen’s office will be launching initiatives targeting gun crime and residential burglaries. These efforts are intended to more quickly match weapons and ammunition with the criminals who used them, and to take serial home burglary gangs off the streets, according to DA’s Office staff.“Through a more data-driven approach to crime, our county law enforcement partners will be able to better utilize their limited resources for efficient and effective crime fighting,” Rosen said. “This recommitment to fighting crime with the latest and most comprehensive data will strengthen our collaboration for years to come.”The crime data analysis, titled “Crime in Santa Clara County,” details a historically safe county facing new criminal challenges—namely residential burglaries and a recent spike in violent crime—with a declining number of officers to address them, summarizes a press release on the report.The DA’s new Weapon Initiative will increase staffing at the DA’s Crime Laboratory in order to speed up the processing of guns and bullet casings collected as evidence in crimes. Rosen expects this effort to lead to “more arrests, and more prosecutions.”To combat residential burglaries, the DA’s Crime Strategies Unit will partner with local police task forces to identify and prosecute burglary crews. The DA’s report notes that a small number of “prolific burglars” are responsible for a large portion of the residential burglaries in the county each year.The DA’s Crime Strategies Unit uses data analysis to improve officials’ understanding of crime and the prosecution of crime in the county, according to the press release. The CSU shares that intelligence with local police departments, other units in the DA’s office and the public to help solve crimes and “promote fairness and equity in the criminal justice system.”The numbersThe recent trend of declining property crime and rising violent crime mirrors that of the nation as a whole, according to the report. Gun cases in particular have risen slowly, and slightly, in Santa Clara County in the last five years, from 974 in 2012 to 982 in 2016. Gun cases are defined as gun-related crimes (629 in 2016) and crimes with a gun enhancement (353 in 2016).The DA’s report also contains a number of charts and tables illustrating different incidents of crime and changes in each of the county’s cities. In Morgan Hill, three categories of crimes increased by double digits from 2015 to 2016: violent crime (15 percent increase), aggravated assault (16 percent), robbery (20 percent), burglary (11 percent) and auto theft (3 percent).Property crimes in general in Morgan Hill dropped by 12 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to the report.