Image Credit: Memphis Police Department / Facebook & Canva
Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –
At a recent City Council meeting, Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis touted the significant crime decrease the city has seen, largely due to the efforts of the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF), and is asking the federal agencies to maintain a presence in the city even after the task force ends.
While comparing crime statistics from the last three years, one council member expressed concerns about how those numbers might change after the MSTF leaves and if crime numbers would continue to fall.
Davis responded that with an anticipated increase in state troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), Memphis Police Department officers (MPD) will be free to focus on the community, but she also mentioned the role some of the federal partners could have in the city long-term.
“If that promise is kept, then we look forward to continuing to be able to manage the city like before the task force came. The momentum picked up, back in October [when the MSTF arrived]. Naturally when you have that many people visible, it’s a deterrent, it’s a natural deterrent”, Davis said. “But we have ramped up in different areas of the department and have requested from our federal partners those people who should be permanently assigned to Memphis, that we create a model where they are working with us on a daily basis and it’s not just people coming in for a couple weeks at a time.”
She also discussed how the increased presence of THP officers before and during the MSTF has allowed MPD officers to return to policing the city itself instead of monitoring the city’s interstate system, including handling crashes on the expressways.
Though while she did offer some accolades to the MSTF in relation to the dramatic crime drop across the board, Davis maintained that it is MPD strategies that have contributed to a 44.5% decline in homicides compared to the same time last year and other declines across major crime categories the past two years.
Councilmembers agreed, crediting MPD with making the majority of arrests, yet the task force’s numbers are certainly notable on their own.
“When we talk about the task force, it’s a whole lot of alphabet soup,” said council member and Democrat gubernatorial candidate Jerri Green said in reference to the agencies’ acronyms. “But MPD is making the majority of the arrests, MPD should get the credit for what is happening here.”
Davis also pointed to the frequent rotation of personnel by the federal agencies, saying that makes it difficult for officers to acclimate to the city and referencing her earlier thought that having permanent federal officers assigned to the area could make for better cooperation and effectiveness down the line.
Sources:
https://www.tba.org/?pg=LawBlog&blAction=showEntry&blogEntry=149905
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
