MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After more than a year in the works, leaders from Shelby County and the City of Memphis say they have a solution to fighting back against violence.
The two entities announced Nov. 14 the formation of a joint office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement. This was a move praised as "historic" by Greg Jackson, a member of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
“The city of Pittsburgh did the same thing, and in their first year, they saw a 42 percent reduction,” said Jackson.
After years of complaints that there was too much separation between the governments, the new office aims to unite efforts among the groups and non-profit organizations across the city.
“We hadn’t had our efforts aligned in our community, we hadn’t spoken with one voice,” said Memphis Mayor Paul Young.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said the plan behind the new office had been in development since Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy's Crime summit in August 2023. Since then the plan has been in development, before the new leaders took office in August and September 2024.
“They were siloed, they weren’t sharing the most up to date information, competing with each other for grants, and wary of one another. The new office will help these various agencies work together,” said Harris.
The department will be led by former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Assistant Superintendent Valerie Matthew who will serve as the director. Tamika Williams who had previously worked with the City of Memphis will serve as deputy director.
“Our efforts will extend to provide wrap-around support, not only for victims, but also for individuals most at risk of engaging in violence, particularly acts of violence that involve guns,” said Matthews.
Similar to cities like Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Atlanta, the new team will have access to billions of dollars provided by the Biden-Harris administration.
“You are now looking at a team that can draw down now over 30 billion dollars of resources to prevent violence, not solve yesterday’s crime, but prevent today’s health crisis,” said Jackson.
There were concerns Nov. 14 that since this funding was provided under the Biden-Harris administration, it could disappear after President-Elect Donald Trump takes office in January. Half of the $30,000,000,000 is linked to the bipartisan Safer Communities Act that was signed by Congress back in 2022, so that funding will not go anywhere unless the law is repealed.
However, Mayor Harris said both the City of Memphis and Shelby County would make sure the new office would be sustainable in the event those federal dollars are not available.