What to know about the Palm Springs police camera center ahead of tonight’s council update

Palm Springs residents will get their most detailed look yet at the police department’s Real Time Intelligence Center on Wednesday night. Police will present a full update on the city’s Flock camera program to City Council, after months of questions about privacy and who can access the data.

Council members asked for the update in August so the city could explain how the technology is used, what it has accomplished and what concerns have come up. The item is informational only, so no vote is expected.

The city now has more than 200 cameras. Fifty-five of them are license plate readers, which photograph passing cars and send an alert when a plate matches a list of stolen or wanted vehicles or missing people. The other 159 are video cameras at about 55 intersections, which staff use to watch incidents as they happen and save footage as evidence. Police noted the cameras only cover about 1% of the city’s intersections.

All of the cameras are watched from the Real Time Intelligence Center. One sergeant and three full-time operators staff the center from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. When a camera flags a vehicle, an operator checks the alert against state and national databases. The operator then pulls up nearby video, and sometimes launches a drone, to tell officers where the car is before they arrive. Police say staff had eyes on the scene before the first officer got there in 75 of 109 camera-assisted arrests where response times were recorded.

The program started small. In September 2023, Council pushed back its vote on the first 15 license plate readers to give the public more time to weigh in. Council approved them that October, along with the department’s rules for using them. That same year, the department won a three-year state grant of about $4.5 million aimed at retail and vehicle theft. The grant paid for most of what came next. Council approved 40 more plate readers in July 2024, the intersection video network that December and a drone program in January 2025. All 55 plate readers were installed by June 2025, and the intersection cameras came online through the end of 2025 and into 2026. The intelligence center became fully operational on December 8, 2025.

The rules are the part many residents have asked about most. Police say plate reader data is automatically deleted after 30 days unless it is saved for a specific case. The data is shared only with California agencies, 26 of them right now. The department has cut off two agencies, one after data was shared outside the state and another over concerns that federal agents could access it. Department policy bans sharing the data for immigration enforcement, according to the staff report. However, exceptions can be made with a court order or a written request approved by Police Chief Kyle Stjerne or someone he designates. City staff says an exception has happened for serious cases such as the FBI’s investigation into the Palm Springs bombing.

The cameras do not use facial recognition, and the system does not allow searches by race. A car can only be added to the alert list for serious reasons, such as a stolen vehicle, a violent felony warrant or an AMBER Alert, and a supervisor has to approve it. That entry expires after 30 days unless someone renews it. Every search is logged with the name of the person searching and the reason, and the system is audited every 30 days. There are 141 people with access, and police say they are not aware of anyone misusing it.

The city also wants to go further. The City Attorney has drafted an ordinance that would make it a misdemeanor to use the cameras to stalk or harass someone, invade their privacy or gain a personal advantage. Each improper search would count as a separate offense, punishable by a $1,000 fine, up to a year in jail or both. Anyone harmed could sue for at least $2,500. That proposal will come back to Council at a later date.

Oversight also includes a new five-member Technology and Surveillance Community Advisory Board, which held its first meeting in late August. In a September 1 Facebook post, the department said it created the board on its own, not because of any legal requirement. Police said they intentionally sought out people with different viewpoints, including some who have raised concerns about surveillance technology, but at this time, the members of the board have not been identified.

In that same post, police said the names “are not being withheld” and that members would be introduced once their biographies and photos were ready. NBC Palm Springs has reached out to the Palm Springs Police Department to learn more on when the members will be introduced.

There are also questions about how open the board will be. The September post says the board will hold several public meetings with dates, agendas, and public comment announced ahead of time. The staff report going to Council says the group’s meetings are usually not public because members review sensitive investigative material, and at this time, there appears to be no announcement from police or the City of Palm Springs regarding an open meeting. NBC Palm Springs has reached out to the Palm Springs Police Department to learn more about how many meetings have been held at this point, and if any were public.

Most of the program has been paid for with grant money so far. Who pays to keep it running after the grant ends will be decided in future city budgets. Going forward, police say they will bring updates to Council every three months. 

Tonight’s meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.