The Memphis Police Department (MPD) has unveiled its plan to “prevent and respond to crime problems proactively” this summer.
“Working closely with approximately 70 leaders throughout every work area of the MPD, we have developed a robust plan that will address a myriad of crime issues in our neighborhoods and business corridors this summer and beyond,” MPD stated. “Utilizing crime analysis data and community input, the department will focus on reducing gun crimes, motor vehicle thefts, and thefts from motor vehicles.”
MPD will implement additional visibility in “common hot-spot areas where shootings have frequently occurred” in order to reduce aggravated assaults and gun crimes. MDP will also deploy additional resources in partnership with federal and local partners for “vigorous apprehension and prosecution of persons committing violent crimes, especially gun crimes.”
Acknowledging that the majority of violent crime being committed in the city is by a “small segment” of the population, MPD added that it will facilitate an operation with the U.S. Federal Marshals to apprehend the most dangerous fugitives in the area.
“To support the reduction of gun violence, we supported our federal U.S. Attorney’s recent announcement to aggressively charge and prosecute individuals caught with modified Glock switches and gun conversion devices,” MPD explained.
In order to curtail car break-ins and other criminal activity, MPD will deploy its uniform patrol to conduct increased directed patrol during evening hours at various apartments, restaurants, and retail parking lots.
To address various traffic-related problems, MPD plans to zero in on enforcing traffic laws related to drag racing and speeding on city streets and interstates with help from the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
These measures also come after MPD recently announced that the department will be actively enforcing the current curfew ordinance for youth.
The curfew for minors between 17 and 18 years old is 11 p.m. on weekdays and 12 a.m. on weekends. The curfew for minors under 16 years old is 10 p.m. during the week and 11 p.m. on weekends.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Memphis, Tennessee” by Heidi Kaden.
