Monterey County Grand Jury
• 2017-2018
• Agency Response
Response to:
City of Monterey Police Department
City of Monterey Police Department*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 12 findings
F1
The Monterey Police Department is consistently at 10 - 20% below its authorized staffing level of "street-ready" officers due to injury, illness, vacation, hiring, training and retirements. A cite is a mandatory court appearance date.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The parking area should be secured by a chain-link fence with razor wire on the top. Entry to the parking area should be via an electronically controlled gate.
F2
The absence of a secured perimeter and poor lighting around the building and the parking area result in an unsafe environment for officers and may also result in the risk of tampering with police department and personal vehicles.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The Monterey Police Department facility should be replaced to meet the security needs of department personnel, the population of the city and the police force it serves. The Monterey County Civil Grand Jury recognizes that funding is a controlling factor.
F3
The absence of a secure sally port does not meet current security practices. Arrestees are taken from the police vehicle through a side door directly into the booking area.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The Monterey City Council should add additional authorizations each year to adjust the disproportionate number of sworn officers to residents until the California standard is met. This should include sworn officers and unsworn professional administrative staff.
F4
The booking area is not secure due to the fact that only a single door prevents the arrestee from escaping.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Monterey City Council should authorize a hazmat inspection (if it hasn't already been completed) of the existing facility to determine and alleviate any hazmat problems.
F5
There is little that can be done about the lack of a secure sally port and other inadequacies in the existing police station.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
The facilities for police officers, including the locker rooms, showers and toilets are inadequate to meet the needs of a force of over 50 sworn officers and 19 administrative staff.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Access to the officers' lockers is a narrow passageway between rows of lockers. This passageway is barely wide enough for an officer to pass through and impossible for two officers to pass in each direction at the same time.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
The current staffing of the Monterey Police Department does not meet the California standard of 2.32 sworn officers per 1,000 residents.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
During the tour the Jury noticed some ceiling tiles appear to be original to the building and if so, there is a high potential that they contain asbestos. Additionally, given the age of the building some of the paint on the walls may be lead based.
No recommendations for this finding
F10
The MPD has worked diligently to rehab and maintain a 63-year-old facility through staff projects (performed on their own time) such as painting of walls and ceilings. The Jury found the facility to be in a near spotless condition.
No recommendations for this finding
F11
The Monterey County Civil Grand Jury found the officers and staff contacted by the Jury to be dedicated to their city, police force and their duties. Those contacted showed great pride in their individual roles for the protection of their city.
No recommendations for this finding
F12
The Jury publicly recognizes the Police Chief and his staff for the commendable job they do with the manpower and administrative support available.
No recommendations for this finding
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.