Palm Springs Sees Less Crime But More Violent Crime Overall In 2024

The Palm Springs Police Department has released its crime statistics for 2024, revealing an overall decline in crime throughout the city. The data, which reflects a decrease in property-related offenses, also highlights an increase in violent crimes.

The report shows a notable reduction in burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny, and arson. This downward trend suggests that law enforcement efforts and community engagement initiatives have contributed to a safer environment for residents and businesses in Palm Springs.

Despite the overall decline in crime, the city has seen an uptick in violent offenses, including sex crimes, assaults, and homicides. Notably, all murder cases in 2024 were solved, and authorities successfully apprehended a sexual predator who had been targeting victims through hook-up apps.

The Palm Springs Police Department reported 635 total assault incidents in 2024, an increase from 613 in 2023. However, the number of aggravated assaults—those involving serious injuries—slightly declined from 178 in 2023 to 172 in 2024.

According to the Palm Springs Police Department, one factor influencing crime data trends is the transition to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which the department adopted in January 2023 per federal mandate. Unlike the previous Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system, NIBRS records multiple offenses within a single incident. For example, if a person is assaulted during a car theft, both crimes are documented separately under the new system, whereas UCR would have counted them as one incident.

This change in reporting methodology may create a perception of increased crime, even if actual incidents remain stable or decrease according to officials. In 2024, 2,288 crimes were reported compared to 2,467 in 2023, demonstrating a slight overall decline. However, law enforcement officials caution that multiple years of data collection are necessary to establish long-term trends.