Full Notification

The Morgan Hill Police Department, FBI, DHS, and the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC) have developed this unified message to describe the role of law enforcement to protect public safety during our elections. Although we have no known threats at this time, we are asking for the public’s assistance with addressing crime and threats in our community from those that may be planning violence or attempting to disrupt the election. Public safety measures can only be effective when they involve strong collaboration between law enforcement and the communities that we serve. All federal, state, and local public safety and election officials are united in efforts to make this election safe.

One of our efforts relates to suspicious activity reporting, a concept in which law enforcement and homeland security leaders have partnered with communities to create a strategy that unifies the work of agencies and organizations in identifying and sharing information reasonably indicative of preoperational planning associated with terrorism or other criminal activity, while protecting privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.

Law enforcement, homeland security, and elections professionals, want to ensure that the public understands how to report suspicious activity to their local law enforcement agency related to the elections. We also want to ensure that all law enforcement agencies understand the process for the collection, analysis, and submission of suspicious activity reports to the NCRIC and the FBI. With your help, law enforcement will have the ability to identify and stop potential threats of violence in your community.

REPORTING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES OR THREATS OF VIOLENCE:

The public should contact law enforcement via 9-1-1 when an immediate response is needed regarding suspicious activity for any type of crime, including terrorism. Your local law enforcement agency will share your reporting with the NCRIC and FBI.

We are asking the public to call 9-1-1 if they see any of the following suspicious behavior:

• Breach/Attempted Intrusion

Unauthorized personnel attempting to enter or actually entering a restricted area, secured protected site, or nonpublic area. Impersonation of authorized personnel (e.g., police/security officers, janitor, or other personnel).

• Misrepresentation

Presenting false information or misusing insignia, documents, and/or identification to misrepresent one’s affiliation as a means of concealing possible illegal activity.

• Theft/Loss/Diversion

Stealing or diverting something associated with a facility/infrastructure or secured protected site (e.g., badges, uniforms, identification, emergency vehicles, technology, or documents {classified or unclassified}), which are proprietary to the facility/infrastructure or secured protected site.

• Sabotage/Tampering/Vandalism

Damaging, manipulating, defacing, or destroying part of a facility/infrastructure or secured protected site.

• Cyber Attack

Compromising, or attempting to compromise or disrupt an organization's information technology infrastructure.

• Expressed or Implied Threat

Communicating a spoken or written threat to commit a crime that will result in death or bodily injury to another person or persons or to damage or compromise a facility/infrastructure or secured protected site.

• Weapons Collection/ Discovery

Collection or discovery of unusual amounts or types of weapons*, including explosives, chemicals, and other destructive materials, or evidence, detonations or other residue, wounds, or chemical burns, that would arouse suspicion of terrorism or other criminality in a reasonable person.

* This activity is not inherently criminal behavior and is a constitutionally protected activity that must not be documented by law enforcement in a suspicious activity report that contains personal identifying information (PII), unless there are articulable facts or circumstances that clearly support the determination that the behavior observed is not innocent, but rather reasonably indicative of pre-operational planning associated with terrorism or other criminal activity.

Race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity must not be considered as factors for reporting (but attributes may be shared in specific suspect descriptions for identification purposes only).