MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Despite the number of homicides we continually hear about, Memphis Police said it saw a 3% reduction in serious crimes from 2020 to 2021.
Part of that breakdown came from comparing the nine police precincts within the city. MPD discussed their findings and what they’re doing to reduce crime to city council members today.
They took crimes reported in the neighborhoods of Memphis and broke it down to Memphis City council members.
Tuesday, Assistant Chief of Police Services Don Crowe said violent crime is down about 5% so far in January of this year compared to last year.
“Violent crime is a compilation of homicides, forcible rape, robbery of businesses, robbery to individuals and aggravated assaults,” Crowe said.
According to data he showed to the council, 7 out of 9 police precincts in the city saw a decrease in reported crimes in 2021 compared to 2020.
But two spots, North Main in Downtown Memphis saw a nearly 14% increase and Appling Farms Station in Cordova saw a more than 11% increase.
One of the strategies the department has put in place is the SCORPION unit. These officers are not subject to dispatchers’ calls.
“Their job is to identify a target area, flood that area with officers and suppress crime in that area. Mostly just by visibility,” Crowe said. “Just being present and having officers there it sees an impact on it.”
So far this year, that SCORPION unit has made 307 arrests. Nearly 75% of those are felony arrests.