MEMPHIS, Tenn. — New data from the University of Memphis and Memphis Shelby Crime Commission show that crime is up in not just Memphis but Shelby County.
This as Mayor Jim Strickland proposed a new city budget that would increase police and fire salaries making them the highest paid first responders in the region.
There is no one way to fight the increase in crime; however, Mayor Strickland’s approach includes attracting and retaining more officers. The question is, do residents think it’s enough?
“I keep my door locked and stay armed,” said Charline Rushton, a Shelby County resident.
Crime is up in the City of Memphis and Shelby County.
“It’s gradually happened. It doesn’t surprise me now. It doesn’t happen overnight,” said Rushton. The University of Memphis and Memphis Shelby Crime Commission found in the past three months, violent crime is up 7.7% in Memphis and 5.4% in the county compared to this time last year. The highest jump in crime is property crime. It increased 4.3% largely due to the more than 150% increase in vehicle thefts both city and county-wide.
“It’s sad what’s going on. People are coming up with very simplistic answers to very complex questions,” said Jim Park, a Memphis resident.
Mayor Strickland proposed a $42 million increase in the city’s budget that includes salary bumps for police and firefighters. The goal is to help bring in and retain first responders.
“With Memphis being up there as the highest ranked in crime, I totally agree. They need higher pay because they,” said Rushton.
“They put their life on the line every day,” said Cindy King, another Shelby County resident.
It is a position other residents share but want to see more done on the legislative level. “How can you increase gun carrying and expect police to do everything,” asked Park.
Community leaders such as Dr. Earle Fisher said the focus should include police reform. “The Tyre Nichols murder has exemplified and exacerbated that there are issues in the system and structure of policing. My mother would call this throwing good money after bad,” said Dr. Fisher, Up the Vote 901 founder.
“We’ve got some officers, some not all. The majority are good people…but you’ve got some of these guys who are thugs. They just dress in uniform,” said Park.
While some residents said attracting more police could help, others want more poured into community resources. “There’s a connection between poverty and crime,” said Dr. Fisher. “What we should do is reconsider how to allocate more resources to social services. You might be able to shrink the number of officers that are needed. Thereby, you can also stop them from spending 90-percent of their time doing something other than fighting violent crime. You can make sure they are adequately educated and adequately compensated.”
Although crime is at the forefront of both city and county discussions, on a city level, some residents said they are not looking to the current mayor for answers. They want to hear from the mayoral candidates who will be taking his place in less than a year because they will be the inheriting the next budget.