What Do We Do With All This Safety?

What do we do with all this safety?

Memphis is in the beginning of a historic moment. Crime — one of its greatest foes — has retreated for now, whether or not Memphians like the battle method.

The moment is here. 

What do we do with it?

“We better take it,” said Duncan Williams, interim president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber. “That’s my plan — to help push and take advantage of it as much as we can.

“This is a reset, and when you have resets, everybody needs to get in line and work toward the same common goal, which is the safety of our citizens.”

The first thing to know about Memphis capitalizing on this moment of historically low crime is that no coalition has been formed to do so. No group called anything like “Our Next Chapter” or “Memphis Next” or “Safer, Better Memphis” exists to organize energy around it.

Williams talked about everyone getting in line for a common goal. So far, there is no line, formally.

No alliance of varied government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, or individuals has banded together to figure out exactly what we do — collectively — with all this safety. When asked, few said any new project has been launched specifically for cashing in on this safety-centered moment.

That doesn’t mean these organizations aren’t thinking about it. Most said lower crime simply gives them more breathing room to push work that’s already underway.

“Every major challenge Memphis is trying to solve becomes easier when people feel safe,” said Memphis Mayor Paul Young. “Businesses are more likely to invest. Families are more likely to buy homes. Visitors are more likely to attend events. Employers are more likely to recruit talent. Residents are more likely to stay and build their future here. Lower crime creates the conditions for growth.”

While the conditions have arrived, Memphis just hasn’t lived long enough in this calmer weather to understand it — or, especially, to trust it.

“What we’re in right now is a point where people have to actually feel it and realize it,” said Jen Prudhome Booker, interim president and chief marketing officer at Memphis Brand. “You can tell everyone, ‘Crime is down 40 percent,’ but if I’m still seeing and experiencing crime in my neighborhood, my perception is going to be different from what the data is telling me.”

The tension

Before we bask in the rainbow, let’s talk about the storm.

Crime was already going down before Donald Trump ordered dozens of agencies — his Memphis Safe Task Force — here to fight crime. Major violent crime was down 40 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, according to the Memphis-Shelby County Crime Commission (MSCC).

However, crime continued to fall in the months that followed the MSTF’s arrival. Crime dropped 41 percent from January to March, according to the Memphis Police Department (MPD). Murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault — major violent crime — was down 30 percent in that same time, according to the MSCC.

Young gets all this.

“At the same time, it would be difficult to argue that the additional federal and state resources were not impactful,” he said. 

Bill Gibbons, president of the MSCC, said certain aspects of the MSTF have been a help.

“Specifically, I feel the surge in state troopers into the community, the increase in federal and state investigative resources, and the assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and others in serving a backlog of outstanding felony arrest warrants have helped,” Gibbons said.

Has it worked? (Worked well enough to make machine guns and flak jackets normal things at Starbucks?) Memphians likely won’t ever know, officially. Reporters ask questions and don’t hear anything. (A Flyer query to U.S. Marshals on the number of ICE arrests carried out by the Task Force has been ignored for months.)

Memphis is being asked to trust that the intervention is working, but there has been relatively little public accounting of how it’s working. The Memphis press does irregularly get news releases from Dave Oney, in the Office of Public Affairs with the U.S. Marshals Service. Here’s the crux of one issued June 10th:

“Since the launch of the Memphis Safe Task Force initiative, officers have made 10,017 arrests, including 92 for homicide, 1,012 for controlled substances, 962 for firearms violations, and 105 for sex offenses,” reads the news release. “Of those arrested, 293 were juveniles and 1,062 were known gang members. The Task Force has seized 1,708 illegal firearms.”

So, some of it seems to be working.

However, there is one aspect of the Task Force that Gibbons — a former Commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security in a Republican administration — said he does not think is working. 

“I don’t think the crackdown on undocumented immigrants has had an impact on violent crime, except maybe to the extent they have been victims,” Gibbons said. “While there are some exceptions, they are not perpetrators of violent crime in our community.”

All of this tension is months old by now. Old but not stale, because Memphis still reels each day from an intervention some have called a “federal occupation.” And that’s even without talking about National Guard troops patrolling Cooper-Young Fest.

The Task Force debate will live on any time two Memphians ever talk about Memphis for the next decade.

In this story, we’ve just asked: What do we win? How do we make the most of the moment? And how does Memphis reorganize its civic life around an absence of chronic violent crime?

In short, what do we do with all this safety?

What do we win? — Money

Oxygen, firstly. Breathing room. As Young said above and as many others said later, safety allows everything else to breathe. A lot of that symbolic oxygen is green with pictures of American presidents on it.

“It makes it much easier for outside money to come in,” said Williams of the Chamber. “When you look across the street and think about projects like The Walk, those become much easier conversations. Discussions about new hotels or additional development become much easier conversations. People are willing to invest money in cities they believe are investable. That’s the opportunity.”

For Tim O’Hare, a Memphis real estate broker and president of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors, people buy homes for lots of reasons that have nothing to do with crime.

“But anytime there are positive trends in the community, it helps reinforce confidence in Memphis as a place to live, work, and invest,” O’Hare said. “If Memphis sustains positive momentum over several years, that will likely encourage additional investment and strengthen confidence in the market. That’s good for the overall health of our community.”

Crime and economic opportunity are deeply linked. The Brookings Institution said it was loss of opportunities that likely led to the rise of homicides during Covid. Following this logic, more money into Memphis could fuel more opportunities in a cycle that could — could — help keep crime rates low.

What do we win? — Image

Never mind the countless gifts Memphis has bestowed upon the world, when Memphians leave town they have to talk about crime.

Once, too, did New Yorkers. But Prudhome Booker of Memphis Brand said cities can choose what story they tell about themselves. For example, “New York” now conjures the backdrops of countless movies, not crime scenes (unless it’s Law & Order). Memphis can win here, too, she said.

“New York had challenges with crime and other issues, but they didn’t put those problems at the center of their narrative,” Booker said. “They put people at the center of it by saying, ‘I Love New York.’

“That’s a psychological approach. Instead of focusing on crime — a negative word — you focus on people, community, love, soul, and the things everyone can rally around. Those kinds of messages perform well because they’re rooted in collective identity.”

She admitted defeating crime in people’s hearts and minds — especially Memphians’ hearts and minds — will take time, and said “I Love New York” was a 50-year effort.

A new image of Memphis will pay real dividends, especially Downtown, according to Chandell Ryan, president and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC). 

“The real measure of success is when Downtown becomes the place people naturally choose to gather, celebrate, invest, and connect,” Ryan said. “When that happens, the narrative takes care of itself.

“One of the clearest signs of success will be when the conversation shifts from ‘Is Downtown safe?’ to ‘What’s new Downtown?’ and ‘What should we do Downtown this weekend?’”

What do we win? — Normality

Maybe the biggest thing Memphis wins is not money, not prestige. But peace. Kids riding bikes. Neighbors talking on porches. Full parks. Community. Things violent crime has stolen that Memphians have not even thought about yet.

“For the first time in five years, my kids have been able to play in the backyard comfortably,” DeeDee Manning said in a consequential TikTok in October. “I haven’t heard a gunshot in two weeks.”

The video was consequential because Manning said, “I feel safe. Thank you, [Donald] Trump” for bringing the Task Force to her neighborhood. The TikTok raised eyebrows, apparently lost her a gig with the Tri-State Defender, and later landed her on stage when Trump came to town for a Task Force victory lap at the airport in March.

But it evoked that feeling of neighborhood safety Prudhome Booker talked about.

“Everyone wants to feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods,” said Susan Deason, executive director of Memphis Allies, a Youth Villages initiative aimed at lowering gun violence. “This is especially true for people in the communities most frequently affected by gun violence — the neighborhoods where Memphis Allies is most needed.”

Allies has already served more than 1,600 people, of which 90 percent have not received any more gun charges. When crime rates fall, she said, Allies can identify even more people who make be at high risk and intervene “before it’s too late.” 

“Gun violence exposure has lasting impacts on the physical and mental health and well-being of individuals and their communities,” according to a study from Johns Hopkins. “When individuals feel isolated, afraid to leave their homes, interact with neighbors, and participate in community functions, the health of the overall community is adversely impacted.”   

Breathing new oxygen into neighborhoods where gun violence dominated could build back stronger neighbors, stronger neighborhoods and communities. Without the fear of gun violence looming over them, who knows what those neighbors may dream up and achieve? 

Comparisons

Other cities have faced horrific violent crime and found ways to reduce it — without a federal task force like the one Memphis has today. We looked at four cities that found different paths forward. The lessons aren’t identical. Some turned lower crime into redevelopment. Some reinvented their image. Others learned that reducing crime alone doesn’t solve a city’s deeper problems.

• Newark, N.J.

Newark’s reputation for violent crime lingered long after crime began falling. But by the end of 2025, the city recorded its lowest homicide total since 1953.

City leaders have argued the turnaround came from more than arrests. Newark paired policing with community engagement, violence prevention, and reforms under a federal consent decree.

The lesson for Memphis is that lower crime can become a foundation for broader civic renewal. Newark used the moment to invest in Downtown businesses, housing, arts, and public spaces. Mayor Ras Baraka now describes the city as “transformed.”

• Richmond, Va.

Richmond was once known as America’s murder capital. Three decades later, its homicide numbers are a fraction of what they were in the 1990s.

The city combined tougher enforcement with community policing and a sustained focus on the people most likely to commit violence. As crime declined, Richmond reinvented itself around its riverfront, restaurants, and outdoor recreation, becoming one of the South’s most celebrated food destinations.

But success came with tradeoffs. Rising property values displaced thousands of longtime Black residents, reminding Memphis that redevelopment without affordability can create new problems.

• Baltimore, Md.

Baltimore’s homicide total fell to a 50-year low in 2025 after years of treating gun violence as both a public safety and public health issue.

City leaders paired policing with investments in housing, employment, transportation, and neighborhood engagement. “Peace is also contagious,” said Stefanie Mavronis, director of the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

Baltimore also shows how long reputations linger. Even after dramatic crime reductions, many people still think first of The Wire. Changing perception takes longer than changing statistics.

• New Orleans, La.

New Orleans feels familiar to Memphis. It has long struggled with violent crime while remaining one of America’s great cultural destinations.

After recording its lowest murder total in decades, city leaders stressed that arrests alone weren’t responsible. Collaboration among law enforcement, prosecutors, violence intervention groups, and community organizations helped drive the decline.

But New Orleans also offers a caution. Lower crime has not solved population loss, poverty, housing affordability, or an economy heavily dependent on tourism. Safety creates opportunity, but it doesn’t automatically produce prosperity.

Getting there

Again, there’s not yet a Memphis coalition with a cool name that looks good on a 5K T-shirt. But collaboration is already top of mind for Memphis leaders looking at the city’s next chapter.

Young said the city’s work on capitalizing on this low-crime moment is already underway. The city is investing in neighborhood revitalization, blight removal, housing strategy, parks, youth employment and workforce development, and the creative economy “because we believe opportunity and public safety are connected.”

“The goal is not simply to reduce crime,” Young said. “The goal is to create a city where more people see opportunity.”

Collaboration efforts are already apparent for Dr. Joann Massey, president and CEO of the Memphis Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE). 

“We are seeing organizations, government leaders, educational institutions, neighborhood stakeholders, and the business community working together around a shared vision for growth,” she said. “That alignment matters because sustainable progress happens when communities move forward together.”

Ryan said Downtown safety will get an extra boost with a $74 million investment from the state for lighting, streetscape, traffic flow, and pedestrian improvements in the Beale Street Historic District.

“That level of investment will define the district for generations and send a clear signal to investors, developers, and businesses that Downtown Memphis is a place worth betting on,” she said.

As for the city’s image, Booker said Memphis Brand’s “We Are Memphis” will continue to build a collective identity for the city, even if it takes years.

“We’re still turning the ship,” she said, especially with Memphians who, according to feedback she’s heard, “are the last people to believe in Memphis.”

For Williams and the Chamber, the story of the city’s low-crime moment needs telling, retelling, and telling again, at high volume.

“The numbers are unbelievable, and we should be thankful that our city has received help addressing crime,” he said. “How that happened and who made those decisions is a different debate. The point is that our city is safer now than it has been in a long, long time.

“We should be screaming it from the mountaintops, and we are. Every chance we get.”