In 1997, the Cathedral City Police Department joined the Palm Springs Police Department in forming a combined Special Weapons and Tactics Team, commonly referred to as SWAT. The primary mission of the SWAT team is to save lives by resolving difficult police situations through the use of developed skills, tactics and specialized equipment/capabilities. The two cities determined the needs of the community would best be served by combining personnel and equipment into a joint tactical response team, which would allow the team and respective cities to benefit from the resources of two jurisdictions.
The SWAT team is comprised of highly trained officers from each department, who must undergo a rigorous selection process before becoming a team member. Each SWAT officer is highly trained to assume a variety of responsibilities within the team with a high degree of expertise and proficiency. Membership on the SWAT team is strictly voluntary, and all members have primary duty assignments as Patrol Officers or Investigators. The SWAT team is prepared to assume full control of specific tactical situations which, by nature, are considered too dangerous and/or complex for regular patrol officers to adequately and safely handle. The SWAT team is divided into two main "Elements" with various duties and responsibilities to achieve the life saving mission: