“Race is not a metric that is tracked,” the Memphis Safe Task Force Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Ryan Guay wrote in an email response on November 17th. I was aiming to make sense of the information on the city of Memphis Safe Data Dashboard (memphistn.gov/safedata), which is updated daily with the most current number of arrests carried out by task force officers and agents, seemingly broken down by felony/misdemeanor, violent/non-violent crimes, warrant arrest charges, etc. At an earlier point in this “safe task force operational period,” immigration-related arrests were included in these numbers. Those are no longer reported.
I began my quest for clarification on October 27th, about a month into the operation, by submitting a FOIA request to the city of Memphis for public records for the then 1,634 cumulative arrests made by the task force, to further analyze the numbers by age, race, charge, etc. A week later, on November 3rd, I received this response: “The City has reviewed its files and has determined there are no responsive records. The City of Memphis is not the custodian of the records requested. Please contact Shelby County Sheriff’s Office for arrest records.” I had requested and received arrest records from the city several times in the past, never SCSO, but redirected my request as advised. Within a few hours of that email, SCSO’s Chief Policy Advisor Debra L. Fessenden responded, “I think all media have been told that the U.S. Marshals Service is the point of contact for Memphis Safe Task Force inquiries. Please direct your questions to that agency.”
I proceeded to the U.S. Marshals FOIA center online and, on November 4th, submitted a new request there for the (by then) 2,048 cumulative arrests. Despite a request for prioritization for media, it may be months or even a year before those records are provided, if they ever are (status is still “received” as of this publication). So I reached the public affairs team for the Memphis Safe Task Force, emailing Ryan Guay, mentioned above, asking if there was somewhere else I should be directing my requests, as I’m simply seeking raw data to review the information myself — the same information they are using to update the online dashboard. In response, Guay said, in part, “The Task Force’s focus is on violent offenders and serious crimes. Race is not a metric that is tracked, nor does it bear any influence on Task Force decisions or on who is charged.” He then provided the current numbers as of November 17th, claiming age was included, as follows: “Total Arrests: 2,790; Homicide: 10; Narcotics: 313; Firearms: 240; Warrants: 1,196 (Note: Not all charges are listed above.); Firearms Seized: 453; Missing Children Located: 114.”
These numbers do not add up; neither does the information on the city’s dashboard. When further questioned about the absence of a large number of charges, Guay replied, “The Task Force has remained transparent throughout this operation, and the numbers shared are those tracked through our established metric system. We do not break the data down much further than what has been provided. While we understand you have a further interest in additional detail, such as race, age, or charge type, that is not how the information is gathered.” Every arrest has a public record, which includes name, age, race, and charge. Those of us in local media are not being provided the extent of info needed to accurately report on task force activity. Other local editors have confirmed the same: Arrest tickets are not being made public and FOIA requests could turn a year old before being fulfilled. If they aren’t breaking down info that way, I will, provided we receive the records. This is what journalists do.
United States Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared in Memphis on Monday to provide an update. “This surge in Memphis has dramatically dropped crime. The numbers tell the stories themselves. They are undeniable,” she said, touting more arbitrary numbers. Rep. Justin J. Pearson released a statement following Bondi’s comments, noting, “They are using unverifiable records to inflate their impact …”
What is truly undeniable is that we can’t see the full story. Thousands of people — 3,096 as of November 24th — have been arrested, but we don’t know what for. The dashboard is a mess of numbers. “Arrests: 3,096; Felonies: 1,309; Misdemeanors: 1,787. Warrant Arrests: 960; Felonies: 529; Misdemeanor: 431; Charges: Other: 710; Traffic Stops: 35,851” (that’s 710 out of 960 “warrant arrests” for “other”) … take a look for yourself and admire the illusion of safety in curated stats. Remember, behind each of those numbers is a human being. Right now, entire communities in our city are being terrorized under the guise of making Memphis safe. Do we accept whatever they tell us? Do you?
If serious crime and transparency are the goals of the Memphis Safe Task Force, give us the records. Then we can see if the numbers speak for themselves or if they tell a different story.