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Police Operations and Data Analysis Report, Morgan Hill, California
37
Morgan Hill, like most communities, places a high value on traffic safety. In response to these
demands, the MHPD has a well-developed strategic plan and places traffic safety as the number one
priority for the department. According to the strategic plan for the fiscal years 2011 to 2016,
Outcome #1 is to reduce injury collisions by 5 percent. The “action plan” for the department at the
time of the plan was to identify the top primary collision factors and top accident areas quarterly,
provide quarterly messages via social media, work with the city engineering team to improve
roadway safety, and deploy the radar trailer weekly in targeted areas. The strategic plan in the
MHPD is not just a document that sits on a shelf. Visible signs of the outcome goals are displayed
throughout the headquarters facility. The plan is an excellent one and it is communicated
prominently to officers at work. Examination of the historical data on traffic collisions and injuries,
however, indicates that the MHPD is struggling to meet these goals.
Table 3-4 illustrates a seven-year history of traffic accidents in Morgan Hill. During this period, the
number of total traffic accidents remained within a fairly narrow range. At the same time, however,
the number of accidents involving injury grew significantly. This increase appears to be tied to a
change in the State of California reporting requirements tied to minor injury collisions where a
complaint of injury does not lead to hospital treatment. Those minor injury collisions, previously
reported as property damage only collisions, are now reported as injury collision. Property damage
only (PDO) accidents decreased 29.1 percent from 172 in 2009 to 122 in 2015, again supporting the
conclusion that the changes are a result of reporting changes vs. the frequency of collisions.
TABLE 3-4: Traffic Accidents in Morgan Hill, 2009-2015
Year
Total
Accidents
PDO
Injury
Accidents
2009
220
172
48
2010
217
147
70
2011
197
146
51
2012
218
134
84
2013
213
137
76
2014
213
127
86
2015
209
122
87
7-Year Avg.
213
141
72
In general, traffic safety is improved by the rigorous application of the three “E’s”: enforcement,
education, and engineering. The MHPD clearly understands this philosophy and has incorporated it
into the strategic plan. In addition, the department has dedicated personnel resources to
specifically address traffic issues in the community. With these two important variables present the
department is positioned to achieve its goals. The following improvement opportunities are
presented in order to bridge the gap between the identified goals and achieving them.
It appears that Traffic Division personnel are overburdened with non-essential administrative and
support responsibilities. In addition to relieving them of some of these responsibilities, additional