By posting or commenting on any social media platform used by the Palm Springs Police Department, you participate by your own choice, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information you provide therein. You further agree to the following terms of use: 

Purpose 

The Palm Springs Police Department (the Department) maintains a social media program for the purpose of engaging and interacting with our community on matters of public interest concerning the Department’s programs, activities, news stories, and photos. In allowing comment on a social media account, the Department intends to create a limited public forum for the purposes above and to allow members of the public to provide feedback regarding the topics posted by the Department. 

Limited Public Forum 

All social media platforms used by the Palm Springs Police Department are limited public forums, meaning that this policy provides reasonable restrictions on comments in order to preserve the purposes of this forum. The Department welcomes a person’s right to express his/her opinion on the topics of a given post, but comments are subject to this social media policy. Posting of any content on any social media platform used by the Palm Springs Police Department, by any visitor, follower, subscriber or fan, constitutes acceptance of the terms of use described here in this policy.  

For purposes of this policy, a social media platform is the website or app offered to the public to provide audio, video, still-photo or written communication between other members of the public and/or representatives of certain groups, businesses, organizations or departments. Examples of social media platforms include Facebook, X, YouTube, Flickr, LinkedIn, website blogs with commenting capabilities, forums and emergency notification services. A thread is a series of posts that is begun by the Department through a post to its social media platform, in which comments from members of the public are posted inline/ below the original post by the Department.  

The definition of content as used in this policy refers to any written copy, photos, graphics, videos, live-video streams, comments or any form of communicative content exchanged between parties. 

Emergency or Non-Emergency Requests for Police Assistance 

The posting of requests for police assistance, regardless if it is of an emergency or non-emergency nature, is discouraged and will not guarantee a response by the Palm Springs Police Department or any emergency service provider. In case of an emergency, or if police assistance is needed, please dial 911. If you wish to report a crime or information relevant to a crime, please call (760) 327-1441. You may remain anonymous if you wish. 

In the event you post information related to a crime, you may be placing yourself in a position of becoming a witness and subject to being subpoenaed into court. 

Endorsements 

“Friending” or “Liking” the Palm Springs Police Department, or an officer or employee of the Palm Springs Police Department, does not indicate an endorsement of that person’s actions or comments. 

A comment posted by a member of the public on any Palm Springs Police Department social media site is the opinion of the commenter or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the Palm Springs Police Department, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Palm Springs Police Department. 

Moderation of Content 

When applicable, the department uses platform provided content moderation/filtering options to enforce its social media policy. The Palm Springs Police Department actively monitors the social media platforms used by the Department, and will remove inappropriate content as defined below, without prior notice, and as soon as possible. The Department reserves the right to remove or hide comments which violate the terms of this policy, as provided below. 

Prohibited material may include, but is not limited to: 

1. Comments not related to the original topic or subject of the Department’s post, which means random, off-topic, or unintelligible comments; 

2. Profane, obscene, or pornographic content and/or language; 

3. Comments in support of, or in opposition to, any political campaigns or ballot measures; 

4. Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any business or product for sale; 

5. Conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law; 

6. Encouragement of illegal activity; 

7. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems; 

8. Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party; 

9. Harassment or content which constitutes and/or facilitates stalking; 

10. Content which violates a person’s right to privacy, or includes personal content like email addresses or residential addresses; 

11. Encouragement of violence or threats against a person, specific individuals, or an organization; 

12. Unduly repetitive content, which is defined as a duplicate comment made by a member of the public, within the same thread as a post made by the Department, which occurs five or more times in the span of a 24 hour period; 

13. Comments which may reasonably interfere with, inhibit, or compromise law enforcement investigations, police tactics, police responses to incidents and/or the safety of police staff and officers. 

14. Posts or comments that contain any external links. 

15. Photos or videos posted by any person other than an employee of the Palm Springs Police Department who has been authorized to post photos or videos on behalf of the Department.  

Denial of Access 

The Palm Springs Police Department reserves the right to temporarily suspend access to any Palm Springs Police Department social media sites for 48 hours to any individual, who violates the Palm Springs Police Department’s Social Media Terms of Use after three notices of a violation of the same type or five notices of violation of different types. If you believe you were improperly denied access to the Department’s social media site, you can submit a request for reconsideration to chief@palmspringsca.gov. The Palm Springs Police Department will promptly review the request and determine whether access should be reinstated before the end of the 48 hour suspension period.  

Facebook's Community of Standards 

All comments posted to any Palm Springs Police Department Facebook site are bound by Facebook’s Community Standards, and the Palm Springs Police Department reserves the right to report any violation of Facebook’s Community Standards to Facebook with the intent of Facebook taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action. 

The X Rules 

When applicable, the Palm Springs Police Department reserves the right to report any violation of the X Rules, with the intent of X taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action. 

YouTube Community Guidelines 

When applicable, the Palm Springs Police Department reserves the right to report any violation of the YouTube Community Guidelines, with the intent of YouTube taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action. 

Instagram Community Guidelines 

When applicable, the Palm Springs Police Department reserves the right to report any violation of the Instagram Community Guidelines, with the intent of Instagram taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action. 

Questions 

Should you have any questions in regards to items contained herein this Terms of Use, please contact the Palm Springs Police Department social media manager at (760) 323- 8106.