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Palm Springs Police Chief No Longer Using Decoys For Gay Sex Stings

Palm Springs Police Chief David Dominguez told KESQ Monday afternoon he is no longer approving non-traditional sex stings that target gays.

“We found a better way and we learned from that process,” he said.

His department will instead use marked police cars and more enforcement.

This all stems from the June 2009 Warm Sands neighborhood sex sting targeting gay men. Twenty-four men were arrested during the sting. Many people have voiced concerns that the men were unfairly targeted and discriminated against.

“We want to have an open approach, to make the marked cars visible and make sure the unlit areas of the neighborhood are lit in order to dissuade some of this behavior from happening,” Dominguez said.

Domniguez has met with members of a local gay committee and other police departments who have come under the same scrutiny after conducting gay sex stings. He says Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is no longer doing gay sex stings because of its experience.

Palm Springs is home to more than 26 gay resorts, and the resorts together tout themselves as the largest concentration of gay resorts in the Western United States.

“Palm Springs has the tradition of being a community committed to the gay community with the tourism boutique niche, it is a very important component to the City,” said Palm Springs City Manager David Ready.

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