Policy Text
ORT Prevention Grant Program
Palm Springs PD Local Evaluation Plan Page 1 Project Background
Palm Springs is a vibrant community
located southeast of Los Angeles in
Southern California. The U.S. Census
Bureau reports the residential
population base for the city was
45,223 people in 2022, with more
males (60.4%) than females (39.6%)
and fewer inhabitants under the age of
18 (8.2%) as compared to age 65 or
older (33.2%)1. Residents are primarily
White (alone; 70.7%), Asian (16.3%),
or Black/AA (6.5%) and 40.3% are of
Hispanic origin.
Property crime, the primary focus of
the current grant, has been a
longstanding problem in Palm Springs
and accounted for 58.4% of all
offenses reported to the police
between 2019 and 2023. The three
charts to the right show the offense
rates for larceny/t heft (e.g., shoplifting,
theft from a motor vehicle [MV], theft of
MV parts), MV theft, and burglary. The
rates for Palm Springs are compared
to those for similarly sized cities in
Western states and the U.S.
The crime rates for Palm Springs were
significantly higher than the
comparison locations for every year
examined. The data also reveal recent
increases in all three offense
categories from 2020 to 2022.
1 This compares to 21.8% and 15.8% respectively for California .
ORT Prevention Grant Program
Palm Springs PD Local Evaluation Plan Page 2 We have several hypotheses regarding the city’s higher -than-average rate of property
offending. First, Palm Springs is a resort community that draws high numbers of “snowbirds”
during the winter months, and a significant number of overnight guests visit th e region
throughout the year. Housing options for short -term residents and tourists are plentiful ,
including 125 hotels/motels (estimated 6,750 rooms) and 2,861 registered vacation rentals
(8,874 bedrooms). Day visitors are even more common given the city’ s central location in
Riverside County and the broader area’s many attractions. The Palm Springs International
Airport served nearly three million passengers in 2022 , and Interstate 10 provides easy access
to visitors from the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area with a population of roughly 13
million.
The accessibility and attractiveness of Palm Springs mean that the city’s ambient population
can easily double or triple on any given day. This provides would -be offenders with a high
number of potential targets, many of whom are concentrated downtown or i n locations catering
to tourists. Visitors may be unfamiliar with their surroundings and unaware of the city’s high
risk for property crimes like thefts of/from an MV. As such, they may fail to take necessary
precautions to safeguard their property. Likewi se, some offenders are emboldened by the
belief that out -of-towners will be less likely to report crimes to the police and/or bear witness
against them in criminal proceedings.
Consistent with this, we estimate that non -resident victims accounted for 22% of all MV thefts,
35% of thefts from an MV, 13% of thefts involving MV parts (e.g., catalytic converters). Non -
residents also accounted for 25% of burglary victimizations and 19% of “other” larcenies in
2023. Similarly, more than one in ten (12%) property crimes reported to the police from 2019 to
2023 were in, at, or adjacent to a hotel/motel. This includes one out of five (20%) thefts from
an MV and 16% of all MV thefts.
A second factor that contributes to property offending in Palm Springs, particularly organized
retail theft (ORT), is the city’s unusually high number of retail establishments . This includes
approximately 1,600 businesses, many of which are densely packed into the downtown core
and adjacent neighborhoods. Businesses and their adjacent parking areas, excluding
hotels /motels , accounted for over 2,700 offenses between 2019 and 2023 for an annual
average of 550 incidents. In other words, businesses account for roughly one -third (35%) of
the city’s recorded property crimes, including 100% of shoplifting offenses, 67% of thefts from
a building, 53% of “other” larcenies, 42% of vandalisms, 38% of thefts involving MV parts, 36%
of thefts from an MV, 36% of MV thefts, and 28% of burglaries. The high number of local
business properties and parked cars provide thieves with many criminal opportunities.
Offending strategies seen in recent years include conspiratorial distractions, smash and grabs
(~20% ), and nighttime acc ess (~31%).
ORT Prevention Grant Program
Palm Springs PD Local Evaluation Plan Page 3 The Palm Springs Police
Department’s (PSPD) staffing
ratio presents a third challenge
to local crime control efforts. The
department reported 103 sworn
officers in 2022 for a staffing rate
of 2.27 per 1,000 residents
which exceeds the U.S.
“average” rate f or similarly sized
cities (1.68) and the rate for
Western agencies (1.29).
This comparison fails to take into
consideration the large number
of part -time residents in the city. Nor does it address the fact that the ambient population often