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Police Operations and Data Analysis Report, Morgan Hill, California
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Recommendations:
CPSM recommends a team from Communications be established to review the dispatch
practices of the current Communications staff and develop a system to accurately identify
the true “dispatch delay” period.
The CAD database should be modified to ensure that only in-progress crimes and life-safety
incidents be recorded as Priority 1 calls.
Records Section
The MHPD’s Records Section is assigned to the Support Services Division and reports to the
Support Services Division manager. The manager oversees one full-time senior records specialist,
three full-time records specialists, and one part-time records specialist. This unit operates 8:00 a.m.
to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The public records counter is open 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Contrary to the common perception that functions performed in law enforcement records units are
as simple as filing reports and providing copies as needed, there is an exhaustive list of duties
performed. Among the essential functions performed in MHPD Records are: responding to public
records requests from both the public and law enforcement/criminal justice community;
maintaining information on local wanted/missing persons and property in local, state and federal
databases; reviewing completed reports from police officers and detectives checking for correct
classification as established by federal guidelines; performing related duties by processing
subpoenas, testifying in court, performing quality control on collision reports, assisting in the
training and cross-training of personnel, orienting new employees and police officers.
MHPD Records utilizes the Executive Information Services (EIS) platform as its records
management system (RMS). The manager reports that the system is a good product with some
minor issues. The MHPD records process is designed as a “paperless” system. Where possible, all
reports and related documents are created in the RMS. The most recent step toward a completely
paperless system involved training sergeants to review and approve reports within the RMS
system. Until recently, many sergeants printed an officer’s report, approved it, and then scanned
the approved copy into the system. This recent processing change has been implemented with
minimal issues. As a security measure, the RMS assigns access authority levels based on the
particular case and individual access need. Any documents not created in the RMS are scanned into
the system and filed electronically under the appropriate file number. The scanned original
documents are stored in MHPD’s records archive files. Records policy should be reviewed and
modified to better reflect the “paperless” process employed by MHPD.
The Records Section is a well-managed unit. The unit maintains a policy and procedures manual
utilized by staff to guide them in processing and completing the myriad of documents and tasks
assigned. The manager reports that with the recent hiring of a full-time records specialist, the staff
will be able to address workload into the near future and meet processing compliance
requirements. The only area of concern noted was meeting retention/destruction schedules. MHPD
staff reported documents had not been purged since 2000. The manager reported purging had not