Palm Springs Police to offer more tours of intelligence center

PALM SPRINGS, CA (KESQ) - Palm Springs residents will have another chance to see how the city’s police department uses real-time technology, this time on a Saturday.

The Palm Springs Police Department is bringing back its community tours of the Real Time Intelligence Center (RTIC) on Saturday, September 26, following feedback from residents who said they were interested in attending previous tours but couldn’t make it during the workweek.

The department will offer three tour sessions throughout the day at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Each session will be limited to 25 participants, and advance registration is required.

The RTIC tours are intended to give community members a behind-the-scenes look at the technology and systems, such as FLOCK cameras, available to Palm Springs police, while also providing an opportunity to learn about the safeguards surrounding their use.

During the guided experience, participants will see demonstrations of some of the technology used by the department, walk through a real-world scenario and learn how information is used to help support public safety operations.

The department also plans to discuss the policies and safeguards governing the RTIC, including access controls, audits, oversight and privacy protections. As automated license plate readers continue to face scrutiny locally and nationwide, Palm Springs Police has told KESQ that regardless of whether information originates from Flock or another technology, human verification remains a necessary part of the investigative process.

All three sessions will have limited capacity, with 25 participants allowed per session.

Residents interested in attending can register online and selecting one of the available tour times.