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Desert Hot Springs City Council to Vote on Adding More Police Officers
The Desert Hot Springs City Council will vote Tuesday night on a proposal to expand the city’s police force, which has maintained roughly the same staffing level for the past two decades.
Police Chief Stephen Shaw is seeking to add officers to the Desert Hot Springs Police Department, with a plan outlined as hiring two officers each year for the next five years.
The department currently has 33 law enforcement officers, a staffing level Shaw said has remained unchanged for about 20 years.
"Our staffing level has been the same as it was 20 years ago," Shaw said. "And it's just not sustainable to do that."
Shaw said additional officers are needed to keep up with demands from the community and to increase the department's ability to address crime and improve safety for residents and visitors.
"We're not able to keep up with the demands that the community wants from us in attacking crime problems and making the community safer for the citizens and visitors of Desert Hot Springs," Shaw said. "In order to do that, the best way is I need officers on the streets."
According to Shaw, adding one officer would provide approximately 2,100 additional hours of service to the Desert Hot Springs community each year.
For residents such as Marcia Mazariegos, who has lived in Desert Hot Springs for 40 years, additional police presence would be welcome.
"I think we need more, more enforcement," Mazariegos said.
The proposed expansion would come at a cost of more than $300,000 to the city for every two additional officers hired each year.
Shaw said the department is already hearing from residents who want public safety to remain a priority. He also pointed to the department's community policing efforts and recent additions to the force.
"We are seeing officers on the street. We are seeing the difference," Shaw said. "We are seeing the officers engaging with the community and being part of the community."
Shaw said the goal is to build a stronger relationship between police and residents.
"So it's more of a team effort now with us and the community working together," he said.
The Desert Hot Springs City Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, when council members are expected to consider the proposed police staffing expansion.
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By: NBC Palm Springs
September 1, 2026
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