Building Together: City of Memphis Weekly Newsletter

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As your Mayor, I often have to share tough news. But this is not one of those weeks. This week, I am thankful to be able to share some encouraging news that reflects our collective efforts toward building a safer, stronger, and more vibrant city. 

As we approach the end of the year, we are proud to say that the work to reduce crime and chaos is working. According to the latest crime statistics, Memphis has experienced a significant decline in crime city-wide, with reductions in multiple categories - city-wide and in multiple neighborhoods - soaring into the double digits. In fact, our city-wide total crime rates are now the lowest they have been since before 2019. 

Our 2024 reductions are a testament to the hard work, dedication, and resilience of our residents, law enforcement, and community organizations. And while we aren’t taking victory laps yet. We are legitimately thrilled with the progress. 

Let’s remember, this achievement is not about a number on a page - those numbers represent people impacted by crime, and any number, even those on the decline, are too many. Still, the reductions mean that fewer people were negatively impacted this year, and that is worth celebrating. We should all feel proud because together, we are changing the numbers and the narrative.

And I can promise you that our administration won’t stop until Memphis is on every safest cities list. 

Over the past year, we’ve launched comprehensive strategies to combat crime, focusing on prevention, intervention, and community engagement. Our efforts include expanding our Code Zero work, beginning a Fugitive Task Force, leaning into our Blight Zero operations, expanding our Homicide team, targeting Downtown-specific issues, and enhancing our partnerships with community organizations committed to creating positive change. 

These initiatives have been instrumental in reducing crime, and they have also served to foster renewed trust between law enforcement and more of our community.

But sometimes, we are our own worst critics. Sometimes the stories we tell ourselves about how bad it is aren’t the whole story. 

I’m going to share a few stats here, but I highly encourage you to click the link to view the entire presentation we shared with the Greater Memphis Chamber Chairman’s Circle today. They were encouraged by the trends we shared, and they are committed to continuing the work of spreading a positive message about our city.

Overall, total city-wide crime numbers are down by 13.8% in 2024. They are also the lowest they have been since before 2019. 

Part of the data we shared related to the crime we see around our downtown/arena district. We compared our arena district stats with the crime numbers from arena districts in other cities - and Memphis ranked among the lower-end of the crime numbers and among the highest for arrests.

Check out the full presentation for more data. 

Our MPD officers are outperforming some of our peers in number of arrests related to total incidents. Check out the full data here. 

I also sat down with Chief Davis to talk about crime reduction and the strategies that are working to help create peace in our city. Check out our discussion here.

Good News!

Do you have good news to share? We would love to share it! Send us a note at goodnews@memphistn.gov

Weekly Crime Trend

The report below provides our weekly update on Part 1 Crimes. It updates daily and shows a continuous rolling 7-day total compared to the prior 7-day total. The charts on the right show the calendar week trend, comparing 2023 to 2024.

(We maintain two crime dashboards, the Weekly Crime Trend report can be found here, and the Crime Analytics dashboard can be accessed here.)

Our Strike Team worked in the following zip codes this week: 38016, 38114, 38116, 38127

Community Engagement:

Memphis Fire Facility Upgrades. The City of Memphis has received a $4.4 million FEMA grant to upgrade the fire services facility at 354 Adams Avenue. The project will address vulnerabilities, improve critical emergency operations, and decrease response times to better protect our community. Groundbreaking on this project will begin soon highlighting the city’s dedication to safety and preserving Memphis’ historical infrastructures.

Memphis Fire Free Smoke Detectors. Protect what matters most! Working smoke detectors save lives during fire emergencies. Don’t wait—request your FREE smoke detector today from the Memphis Fire Department. See full details here. 

Social and Community Shout-outs:

Memfeast. Join us for MemFeast 2024: “We Are Better Together” on Wednesday, November 27, from 11am to 2pm at various hot meal locations across Memphis! See more and share here.

Young Professionals Career Closet. Empower Memphis’ young professional community! The Office of Youth Services is collecting gently worn professional attire for ages 20-30 to wear on their path to success from now until December 14. See more and share here.

Thanksgiving Trash Pickup Schedule. City of Memphis’ Solid Waste Collection Schedule will be adjusted Thanksgiving week. See full details and share here.

Memphis Animal Services. We need your help! MAS is over capacity and there are so many wonderful animals just waiting to find their loving family to take them home. See more and share here. 

Weekly round-up

in partnership and progress,

Paul A. Young