MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For the first time since Mayor Paul Young was elected, U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty met with him and other elected officials to discuss crime in the Bluff City.
This comes as residents and businesses are concerned about the ongoing crime problem and just days after Mayor Young announced his Black Mayors’ Coalition on Crime (BMCC) initiative.
Senator Hagerty said he’s feeling optimistic about change in the 901.
“I think we have a great opportunity to improve things here even greater and dealing with the crime problem is something we’ve absolutely got to address,” Hagerty said. “But meeting with the mayor and this great team today, I feel very optimistic that we’re gunna make some real progress here.”
Despite more than 80 homicides in Memphis in the first months of 2024, city leaders did not talk about the accessibility of guns in Tennessee.
“You know, we focused our conversation on things that we know we would have some bipartisan agreement on so we can get some advancement of items that we know are going to move our community forward,” Young said.
Instead, they talked about other pressing issues that Memphis is dealing with.
“The jail,” Young mentioned. “We know that there's a big need there was conversation around the crime lab and the opportunity for us to be able to analyze some of the evidence that's needed for us to process things quicker.”
This was just part one of the crime summit.
Part two kicks off on Thursday, March 28, when Mayor Young meets with 21 mayors from across the nation to further his plan.
He's looking to get ideas from other cities to see how they're tackling crime. ABC24 will be there and break down how the meeting went.