MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County Crime Commission released new crime stats Thursday, and it’s a mixed bag as violence continues plagued the Mid-South.
Through most of 2020, crime numbers headed in every direction. Some crime problems got better while others got worse. The crime commission says murders and assaults are up 17.6% since COVID hit, and the pandemic bears part of the blame.
“People that may have a short fuse in the first place now have an even shorter fuse,” said Shelby County Crime Commission President Bill Gibbons.
Statistics show robberies and property crimes are down, continuing a decade-long trend in the right direction.
“It’s been fairly consistent,” Gibbons said. “Now, there have been a couple of bumps here and there, but basically, we’ve been seeing fairly consistent declines.”
But even smaller numbers of robberies don’t mean certain areas aren’t struggling.
Wednesday, police arrested 23-year-old Davonte Dillihunt for two counts of aggravated robbery. They say he robbed a man of his iPhone behind Treadwell Elementary around 10:30 am and then was caught after attempting to rob a victim along the Greenline path.
Dillihunt has bonded out of jail and is expected to be in court Monday, October 26.
Residents that live in the area say they’ve felt an uptick in crime.
“I’m not surprised!” said Gera Thomson-Hidayat. “We have this problem with people walking up in your driveway and trying to steal your vehicle.”
Experts aren’t sure how crime stats will play out across the remainder of 2020. Violence and robberies usually decrease as days get shorter and weather gets colder, but the pandemic could play a role.
“Having to be enclosed even more, under extreme circumstances, especially if we have a surge in cases, that may very well increase the stress level even more. It’s very hard to predict,” Gibbons said.