Our View: Since Gilroy tops the list on where parolees are
likely to live in Santa Clara County, this community deserves to
understand why
News that South County’s cities – Gilroy and Morgan Hill – are home to the highest number of parolees per capita in the county ought to alarm officials and spur action. Why is Gilroy home to 7.85 parolees per 1,000 residents and Morgan Hill home to 5.17 parolees per 1,000 residents, when the county average is a drastically lower average of 2.37 parolees per 1,000 residents?
We can speculate why our South County cities are so attractive to parolees – perhaps it’s housing prices, or maybe it’s job opportunities. Could an overworked police department be the reason? Or is it something else?
Our City Council should want a definitive answer. So should our law enforcement administrators. Given the high number, it’s imperative to find out what it is about South County that parolees find so appealing. The answers are vital to police and social service planning efforts. There is a serious effect on both South County communities.
Morgan Hill Police Chief Bruce Cumming summed it up well when he told reporter Kristen Munson this about the rates of parolees in a community: “… It’s a clear indicator of a community’s vulnerability to criminals. People who come out of prison are more likely to reoffend. We work closely to keep track of parolees.”
Is South County shouldering an unfair burden? Is there something about our communities that needs to change? What impact does the high rate of parolees in our communities have on crime rates, gang activity or drug use in our neighborhoods? Are grants available that can be sought? Are increased social services warranted to help us deal with this particular population?
We don’t ask these questions out of spite – parolees who have paid their debt to society deserve another chance to live by society’s rules – but out of a sense of fairness to the community.
As Cumming indicated, having such a high parolee population stresses our already overworked law enforcement agencies. Gilroy and Morgan Hill are the two busiest police departments per officer in the county, with Gilroy police responding to 893 calls per officer per year, and Morgan Hill police responding to 919.
Let’s not ignore this alarming report. The Gilroy City Council should ask for a detailed analysis from the chief of police that answers why parolees find South County such an attractive place to call home. After the challenge is understood, then can we work to mitigate the negative effects those parolees have in our communities.
