By When other cities created safe business environments, Palm Desert went into the red, gutted the police and saw skyrocketing crime.
The Palm Desert City Council cut police funding 5-0 and shifted responsibilities to the volunteers in Citizens on Patrol (COPS).
Violent crime skyrocketed by 45%. Palm Desert went more that $17 million in the red.
The Palm Desert City Council did not respond and has continued to mismanage spending. One neighboring city increased police spending by 25% while running a $80 million surplus.
