It’s no secret that crime is out of control in Memphis.  No matter what our current administration has tried, it does not seem to be working and we continue to see a rising tide of crime.  It is my belief that we cannot address our crime problem by using conventional methods alone to keep our streets safe.  We need to take a hard look at the entire public safety ecosystem and begin to make the necessary investments and changes that will finally reduce crime and make Memphis a safer city for Memphians.

I want to change the way we view public safety.  Public safety should not be viewed as policing alone.  There are many factors that go into creating a safe community.  We first need to view how our city is making investments in our people that live in marginalized communities who are the most likely to turn to criminal activity.  That means investing in affordable housing, cleaning up our neighborhoods, renovating abandoned houses, developing programs for job training and workforce development and increasing opportunities to create small businesses that will grow these hyperlocal economies.  Crime is reduced where opportunities exist.

My administration will look at how we prevent young people from entering into a life of crime.  I will seek ways to intervene early and put in place services that will put them back on the right path.  This means creating partnerships with youth services, MSCS, juvenile justice and MPD.  If we can identify these at-risk youth early we can stop the problem where it starts.

The criminal justice system also plays a large role in how we reduce crime.  Not just from a prosecution standpoint, but instead focus on right sizing sentencing, ensuring that our bail system is reformed so you are not priced out of being able to continue your life while awaiting trial.  This includes what happens to someone after they have served their time.  We need to make sure that we are investing back into them while incarcerated and post incarceration so that they return as productive members of society so we can keep them from falling back into a life of crime.

Finally, I want to hire more police.  I want to expand the police force so that they can focus on community policing and get to know the people in the neighborhoods that they are serving.  We will still need detectives and units to handle violent crime but we must also have police in the community who are doing their best to prevent crime by being present and a part of the neighborhood fabric.

I believe that we can solve our crime problem by having all these key pieces working together and integrating their efforts to make Memphis safe again.  And I believe that I am the person to lead us into that new era of public safety.