Fire station opens; police report shows big drops in violent/property crime and rise in narcotics enforcement

At the Feb. 12 meeting of the Desert Hot Springs Public Safety Commission, city staff summarized monthly public-safety activity and service changes.

Animal-control staff (Tyler) reported 145 service requests in January 2026, including 69 intakes, 15 adoptions, 21 animals sent to rescue, 76 vet visits, 16 dead-on-arrival animals, two animals that died while in care, three euthanized for severe medical conditions, 10 licenses issued and four citations totaling $2,000. Tyler said the shelter is seeing a small Giardia outbreak that has increased veterinary visits and advised the commission that Giardia is common in shelter settings and not usually fatal to animals but should be addressed to limit spread.

Code compliance reported 118 service requests for January, 131 notices/violations issued, 410 inspections completed, 71 new cases opened and 43 citations totaling $41,100.

Battalion Chief Timothy Bingham, filling in for Chief White, said the city recorded 444 fire responses in January (about 15 per day) and that Station 98 (Long Canyon) opened in December. Bingham said Station 98 has improved paramedic coverage in the city’s south end and that a grand opening is planned for April 1. He described ongoing staff training at the truck academy and said response times in covered areas are generally under five minutes. Bingham noted that CAD dispatch data attributes some calls to the county when they occur outside city boundaries.

Deputy Chief Jeff Hattersley reported the police department handled 1,294 calls for service, 1,262 officer-initiated calls and 51 traffic-accident responses in January for a total of 2,607 calls. Hattersley said crimes against persons fell about 54% year over year and crimes against property fell roughly 50%. He also said crimes against society rose about 67%, driven largely by increased narcotics enforcement: drug arrests were up 116% and drug-equipment violations rose 142%, which Hattersley credited to increased proactive enforcement as the department reaches authorized staffing levels.

Hattersley updated the commission on a Jan. 20 robbery: he said police identified and arrested three suspects after an online-sale setup led to a robbery. Commissioners pressed Hattersley on staffing and fleet capacity; he said the department is authorized to overhire to build bench strength, currently has enough vehicles and plans to present the post-staffing report to city leadership and, later, to council.

Commissioners praised the increased presence of police, fire and code enforcement and credited coordinated responses — including a recent code-enforcement removal of a homeless encampment near a church after community complaints. Chair Walt Meyer asked staff to provide contact information for agenda requests and reminded commissioners about filing Form 700 disclosures before adjourning.

The commission scheduled no formal policy votes arising from these reports; staff said the staffing/post report will be presented for further discussion in a future meeting.