Bondi: Task force causes dramatic drop in Memphis crime
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Attorney General Pam Bondi visited Memphis on Monday along with a host of state and federal leaders, with updated numbers showing the Memphis Safe Task Force’s progress.
Bondi said after 56 days of the federal and state law enforcement surge, murder in Memphis was down 48%, sexual assault was down 49% and robbery was down 61%.
“This surge in Memphis has dramatically dropped crime,” Bondi said. “Tolerating crime is a choice. This administration chooses law and order.”
One hundred twenty-one children who were reported missing and endangered have been located and returned to safety, Bondi said.
She said there had been more than 3,600 arrests and 531 firearms seized, with federal charges against 157 people. WREG is unable to independently verify those numbers.
Bondi said Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, both of whom joined Bondi onstage, had been calling her, asking her to help make Memphis safer, even before she took office.
“The goal is to make Memphis the safest city in the United States,” Blackburn said. “Memphis can be the model for the rest of the country.”
Bondi thanked not only Gov. Bill Lee and other Republicans on stage, but Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Police Chief C.J. Davis for their efforts working with the task force to reduce crime.
“Murder rates cut in half, crime rates in Memphis at their lowest level in 20 years,” said Gov. Bill Lee.
HUD director Scott Turner announced a new Memphis HUD crime hotline to announce residents of public housing to report crime: 1-800-347-3735.
“Unfortunately, the safety of our community has been compromised by some judges who continue to obstruct our efforts. I wish they are all watching this, and I hope they’re seeing what we’re doing here in Memphis. We will not coddle violent criminals at the expense of law-abiding citizens,” said Bondi.
Monday’s news conference comes after a Tennessee judge’s order to block the use of the National Guard in Memphis last week, but also put the order on hold, giving the government five days to appeal.
The next day, Elizabeth Johnson, Director of Communications with the governor’s office, released the following statement:
“The state will appeal, and the Tennessee National Guard will continue to operate as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force while the case is on appeal, per the judge’s order.”
State Representative Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis) released the following statement in response to the updated numbers:
“Attorney General Pam Bondi and this Administration’s Task Force are not making Memphians safer. They are using unverifiable records to inflate their impact while we are still suffering with the lack of federal investment that could reduce poverty, provide housing, ensure healthcare, and improve education for our students. Their presence has decreased tourism and negatively impacted many business owners, especially African American and Hispanic owners in our city.
While we all want a safer city, no one–not Governor Bill Lee, Attorney General Bondi, or
President Trump–has presented a plan to sustain the reported impact long-term.
Their claims and efforts have come at the cost of community and togetherness that makes
Memphis strong. Families have been separated by ICE, traumatized by officers at the wrong
doors, and students have missed weeks of school because of fear. We need to have federal
policy and interventions that help our cities, not hurt us. We need actionable plans, not
performative press conferences. We need the millions of dollars funding this occupation to be millions of dollars funding poverty eradication.“
According to an unclassified Department of War memo obtained by WREG, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated that he was prepared to send up to 1,000 Tennessee National Guard troops through September of next year.
The memo also states that the deployment of the Guard could cost up to $226 million a year, depending on the number of troops and duration.
Hegseth says Tennessee, particularly Memphis, faces a convergence of public safety threats that exceeds the capacity of local law enforcement agencies.
Opponents of the task force in majority-Black Memphis say it targets minorities and intimidates law-abiding Latinos, some of whom have skipped work and changed social habits, such as avoiding going to church or restaurants, fearing they will be harassed and unfairly detained. Statistics released at the end of October showed 319 arrests so far on administrative warrants, which deal with immigration-related issues.
The effects have rippled beyond the streets, into the aging criminal courthouse and the troubled jail. Officials are concerned about long waits in traffic court causing people to miss work and packed criminal court dockets forcing inmates to spend extra days waiting for bail hearings.
The mayor of Shelby County, which includes Memphis, has requested more judges to hear cases that could span months or years. County officials are discussing opening court at night and on weekends, a move that would help manage the caseload but cost more.
Meanwhile, Shelby County Jail inmates are being moved to other facilities because of overcrowding, officials say. Inmates at jail intake are sleeping in chairs, and jail officials are asking county commissioners for funding to help address problems, such as a corrections employees shortage.
1 comment:
Treating criminals like criminals.
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