MEMPHIS, Tenn.– A chief with the Memphis Police Department told city council members Tuesday that officers are encountering more armed people and recovering more weapons than ever before.
Assistant Memphis Police Chief Don Crowe told city council members that there have been 114 homicides in the city so far this year, with 96 of them classified as murder.
Crowe also provided a breakdown of the murders committed and solved this year. 57 percent of the murders have been gang-related while 23 percent are domestic violence-related.
Overall, 87 percent of victims knew their killer in some capacity.
MPD said they’ve seen a 37 percent decrease in interstate shootings. But Crowe said officers have seen a 53 percent increase of guns stolen from vehicles in May 2022 compared to the numbers back in May of 2021.
Councilman Ford Canale said that the data shows that Constitutional Carry has added more problems to Shelby County.
“Colleagues, here’s some real, hard data of why Constitutional Carry was not good for Shelby County. 1,655 guns stolen, 1,001 stolen from vehicles in year 2022,” said Councilman Ford Canale. “We tried to explain to the state legislature that Constitutional Carry was not good for Shelby County, I think you can’t help but make the argument that that furthered our problem here and furthered the fear and our issue of our MPD because they have to assume everyone is carrying at this point.”
As far as gun seizures, that’s up 6 percent from May 2021 to May 2022.
The number of minors arrested for illegal gun possession also saw a 72 percent increase in the same time period.