Memphis Fast Forward

United States Senator Lamar Alexander joined local Operation: Safe Community leaders in a recent announcement of more than $14 million in new federal, state and local funding for the crime fighting plan.  Also announced were Team Leaders from local and state governments committed to implementing the comprehensive public safety component of Memphis Fast Forward, which aims to make Memphis and Shelby County one of the safest communities of its size.

District Attorney Bill Gibbons, who chairs the Operation: Safe Community effort, called the new funding and announcement of Team Leaders “major steps showing our joint commitment to get this plan implemented.”

Alexander spearheaded an effort for a special federal appropriation to support Operation: Safe Community.  He was supported by U.S. Senator Bob Corker, Congressman Steve Cohen, and other members of the Tennessee congressional delegation.  The new funding announced by the group totals $14,773,918, with over $2 million in recent grants from the Memphis City Council.

Gibbons notes that implementation of the plan was “in its second critical year” and the addition of Team Leaders was critical to continued momentum.  In addition to District Attorney Gibbons, Operation: Safe Community Team Leaders include: County Commission Mike Carpenter; Memphis City Schools Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash; City Councilman Harold Collins; State Representative John DeBerry; City of Memphis Community Enhancement Director Ernest Dobbins; City Councilman Shea Flinn; Memphis Police Department Director Larry Godwin; City Councilman Reid Hedegpeth; University of Memphis Professor of Criminology Richard Janikowski; State Senator Jim Kyle; Acting U.S. Attorney Larry Laurenzi; Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell; County Commissioner Diedre Malone; State Senator Mark Norris; Juvenile Court Judge Curtis Person; Shelby County Schools Superintendent Bobby Webb; and County Mayor A C Wharton.

For More Information Contact: Jennifer Donnals (901) 545-5988

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The MPD has launched two new Real Time Crime Center programs that bring in surveillance data from throughout the city to fight crime.  By tapping into video from private security cameras and collecting license plate scans sent from its patrol cars, the MPD continues to build on Fast Forward’s data-driven policing strategy to keep citizens safer.

The Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) will collect video streams from private surveillance cameras from industrial and commercial sites.  The images will be used to track criminals or collect information as part of an investigation.

MPD is also investing in devices that will sit on top of Memphis squad cars to scan license plates.  The information will be transmitted to the RTCC to check against multiple databases for a range of offenses, including vehicle theft, outstanding warrants, and other criminal activities.  If there’s a match, officers on the streets are instantly notified.  MPD plans to add 65 such devices next year.

For More Information Contact: Monique Martin (901) 545-3024

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School safety and security is a top priority as MCS starts the school year, with a new security chief, metal detectors in all middle and high schools, more police officers and monitors walking the halls, high-tech ID badges to keep track of students, and school staff trained in violence prevention and early intervention.

About 500 metal detectors are being used for screenings in middle and high schools throughout MCS.  New high-tech student ID badge help administrators ensure students are where they are supposed to be.

Seventy-seven police officers are walking the halls, with plans for 29 more by December.  The 12 schools where most serious incidents occur are staffed with experienced, specialized officers that have received at least 480 hours of training.  These schools also have more hall monitors.

This past summer, hundreds of teachers learned prevention and intervention strategies to increase school safety.  Gang prevention and intervention training is planned for all administrators.  Finallly, MCS is also conducting a study to find out where more security is needed as the foundation of a comprehensive school safety and security plan.

For More Information Contact: Kriner Cash (901) 416-5300

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In the first half of 2008, violent crime in Shelby County was down 8.08% and property crime 3.31% compared to the same time period in 2006, the year before Operation Safe Community was launched.  While recently released FBI rankings for 2007 put Memphis at number two in the country for violent crime, our continuing downward trend bodes well for 2008.

For More Information Contact: Linda Miller (901) 527-2600

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A Federal Grand Jury has recently indicted thirty-nine people charged with serious and violent gun crime in Shelby County, ensuring these individuals will face tough federal sanctions rather than weaker state gun laws.  The indictments are part of the Memphis/Shelby County Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Initiative, a strategy of Operation Safe Community.

PSN is a collaborative effort between the United States Attorney’s Office, the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, the Memphis Police Department, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive, and the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

Since February 11, 2000, members of the PSN Task Force have met weekly to review every arrest involving a firearm that occurs in Shelby County.  These cases are presented each week to federal and state court prosecutors.  Through this unit, 11,500 arrests have been reviewed resulting in over 1,000 indictments in federal court and over 400 guilty pleas in state court to “above-range” offers to avoid the higher federal penalties for firearms related offenses.

This approach ensures that whenever possible defendants with the most serious criminal history and those who pose a danger to the community are subjects to the higher federal penalties for gun crime, while other individuals charged with illegal gun possession are given the opportunity to enter a guilty plea in state court.

For More Information Contact: Leigh Anne Jordan (901) 544-4231

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Violent crime in Shelby County was down by 12.16% and property crime by 4.71% for the first three months of 2008, compared to the same time period in 2006 – the Operation Safe Community baseline year.

Implementation on Operation Safe Community is well underway.  This five-year action plan is backed by our top leaders and experts in law enforcement, government, business and academia in partnership with dozens of community-based organizations across the county.  Progress can be seen in smart policing, aggressive prosecution, and comprehensive law enforcement/community partnerships. 

For More Information Contact: Linda Miller (901) 527-2600

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MPD’s new state-of-the-art Real Time Crime Center takes crime-fighting to the next level, giving local law enforcement the tools to collect, analyze and share crime data “real time.”

Funded by the City of Memphis and federal funds secured with earmarks, the initiative was led by Mayor Herenton who directed his administration to review New York City’s successful policing approach credited with reducing crime by 20%. The City of Memphis’ commitment to more police officers and a real time crime center is a result of adapting best practices to improve public safety.

The Memphis RTCC has adapted and expanded a number of NYC capabilities. Investigators, officers on the street and citizens now have near immediate access to information that can help prevent and solve crimes.

For More Information Contact: Vince Higgins (901) 545-3362

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A significant drop in business robberies and carjackings in 2007 from 2006 is due to smarter and more aggressive prosecution, explains noted criminoligist Richard Janikowski at the University of Memphis. Janikowski explains that law enforcement agencies collaborating through the local Safe Streets Task Force used tougher federal laws, rather than weaker state laws, to prosecute these crimes.

A recent Commercial Appeal series provides an in-depth exploration of guns in local schools — why kids feel like they need to arm themselves and the consequences of their actions. The investigation looks at the 18 gun firings out of 160 gun incidences overall in Memphis, Shelby County, and private schools since 2003. A companion editorial emphasizes the “eroding” effect guns in schools have on student learning.

For More Information:

Education in Crossfire: In-depth look at the prevalence of guns in our schools (Commercial Appeal, April 27, 2008)

From easy prey to gun-toting predator (Commercial Appeal, April 27, 2008)

In-depth look at the prevalence of guns in our schools and the culture of fear and reprisal (Commercial Appeal, April 28, 2008)

Editorial: Guns in schools erode learning (Commercial Appeal, April 28, 2008)

Grassroots groups including Hadassah, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, National Council of Jewish Women, Memphis Mentoring Partnership, Memphis Area Women’s Council, and Freedom from Unneccessary Negatives, with transportation support from Bellevue Baptist Church, joined OSC and Sheriffs, Police Chiefs, and District Attorneys from across Tennessee to advocate “on the hill” for tougher state laws against gun and gang crime.  Bills are moving through the State House and Senate and need support now!

For More Information Contact: Linda Miller (901) 527-2600

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