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Police Operations and Data Analysis Report, Morgan Hill, California
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Section 6. Departmentwide Issues
Facilities
The Morgan Hill Police Department is housed in a city-owned facility that was built in 2001. The
facility was originally constructed for use as a private business, but never occupied as such before
the police department began occupying the building in 2007. The building has a total of about
43,300 sq. ft., of which about 37,200 sq. ft. is occupied by the MHPD. A private company leases the
remaining 6,000 sq. ft. The facility provides exterior parking stalls for 122 vehicles and 23 interior
garage parking stalls. Adequate space exists in the existing police department footprint to
accommodate any foreseeable staffing growth in the department. Should the department choose to
develop an on-site training facility in the future, consideration should be given to acquiring the
privately leased portion of the facility at the termination of the lease.
The area of the building occupied by the police department provides various executive and
administrative office space, work areas for law enforcement and support personnel, a
communications center, male and female locker rooms, a training room/emergency operations
center, a property and evidence room, a temporary prisoner holding facility, and an expansive
garage area. The public lobby is accessed through unlocked exterior doors that enter into an area
monitored by security cameras. Access into the building beyond the lobby is controlled by two key
card access doors. The rear parking has a security fence and key card access gates. The interior
garage area is secured by roll-up doors at the north end and south end of the building. Access points
into the building within the fenced area are also controlled by key card access doors. Interior access
points to the communications center, temporary holding facility, and administration offices are also
key card access doorways.
The building’s front exterior contains a significant amount of glass, which forms the exterior walls
of the department’s administration offices. There were no visible security enhancements to the
glass or security barriers across the front of the building. This environment exposes MHPD staff to a
potential security breach. Security of the building’s interior and exterior portals was maintained
during the CPSM site visit, except for two locations. The interior door leading to the administration
offices was frequently propped open, as was the door to the communications center. Staff raised
concern about access by the public to secure areas during training or community events through
the training room. However, observations and information from staff would indicate this security
concern is caused by breach of security protocol and can be easily rectified by enforcing existing
policy.
Fleet
The MHPD operates with a fleet of 38 vehicles and five trailers. The fleet includes 14 marked patrol
vehicles, 8 unmarked detective vehicles, and 2 motorcycles. The balance of the fleet is made up of
various vehicles assigned to administrative and support personnel, with 11 designated as take-
home vehicles.