Our Mission & Purpose:
It is the mission and commitment of the Morongo Tribal Police Department to have a collaborative partnership with the people of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Our goal is to ensure that all Tribal Members, residents, employees and visitors of the reservation feel confident they are living and working in a secure and guarded environment.
The department exists for the purpose of maintaining a safe community for those who reside within the residential areas of the reservation and those who attend and work at the Tribe’s schools, enterprises, administration buildings and TANF offices. It is our obligation and pleasure to safeguard all of those individuals whom we work for and are sworn to protect.
The Department’s History:
The Morongo Tribal Police Department was started with four officers in 1998 with its main purpose being to patrol the canyons for cattle thieves. This was the start of the Patrol Division. During those early years, the residential portion of the reservation was open and accessible to the public. In May of 2005, the two main entrances to the reservation located at Malki Road and Hathaway Street were secured, making the reservation a gated community. The security of those gates was handled by the same officers who started the Tribal Police Department. The gates and guard shacks which are currently in place were eventually installed and a Traffic Division was established. As the Tribe’s enterprises flourished, an Enterprise Division was established as well.
Reservation Patrol
47350 Foothill Road, Banning, CA 92220
24 Hour Dispatch, Non-Tribal Visitor Gate Entry Request – 951-634-4810
Police Chief, Randall Reynolds – 951-755-5305
All members of the Tribal Police Division have graduated from California POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) certified academies, with a number of them having prior municipal law enforcement and/or military experience. The officers consistently attend advanced officer training which meets POST standards through the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center. All members of the Enterprise Division have completed a PC 832 Arrest and Firearms Course which is the minimum training standards for California Peace Officers.
Each and every member of the department has an obligation to the community we serve to develop and maintain the highest ethical standards in all official conduct and provide everyone with unsurpassed excellence in law enforcement and security services. That obligation is taken seriously and all personnel are held to the highest standards possible.
Between full-time, part-time and on-call employees, the department is now allotted 43 employees (36 full time, 3 part time and 4 on-call). The department currently consists of the three aforementioned divisions; the Traffic Division, which maintains control of the gates, keeping the reservation residents and employees safe from unauthorized persons. The Enterprise Division, which maintains the security of the Tribe’s enterprises, administration building and TANF offices. And the Tribal Police Division which is responsible for patrolling of the canyons, residential and business areas of the reservation, as well as the off-property enterprises and properties.
The Tribal Police Division also provides assistance to the Enterprise Division officers when necessary, as well as responds to emergency and non-emergency calls for service within reservation areas. As a whole, the department monitors entryways onto the 35,000 acre reservation, enforces Tribal Ordinances, assists the Tribal Court as bailiffs and provides security during Cultural Days and Rodeo Days celebrations.