Divisions
Gang Unit
The Gang Unit enforces and assists numerous law enforcement agencies; city, state, and federal, inside Shelby County. The unit also assists other counties and states in the mid-south area. The Gang Unit contains several specialized units. Officers of both the Shelby County Sheriff's Office and the Memphis Police Department are trained in several different areas. Many officer have dual roles in the unit to enforce the law.
Mission Statement
“The collective mission of the men and women of the Gang Unit is to prevent, interdict, and combat criminal gang activity in Memphis and Shelby County on every front possible and with every tool lawfully available including civil remedies. We will fulfill this mission through the tactical integration of presence, deterrence, partnership, intervention, education, diversion, suppression, enforcement, prosecution, and incarceration.”
The Gang Unit is presently made up of twenty two Patrolmen and four Supervisors, split between a day and evening shift. Currently there are nine County Officers and thirteen city Officers assigned to the Unit with three county supervisors and one city Lieutenant. These two shifts are responsible for street enforcement, investigations, and intelligence gathering. They also respond to city and county schools on a daily basis when called by the administrators of the school with possible gang activities.
The Memphis Police Department Homicide Bureau,Robbery Unit, and the Sheriff's General Investigations Bureau also use their assistance in all violent investigations involving gangs. This unit also assists the ATF, Secret Service, FBI, DEA, and U.S. Marshall's Office gang investigations and special operations.
Commander Inspector W. Allen
Assistant Commander Captain Phillip Barnett
Phone: (901) 387-5976
Listing of Divisional Units within the Gang Unit
- Intelligence Unit
- Ten Point Coalition/Operation Courage
- HOME (Home Orientation Mentorship Evaluation)
- Major Violators (Persistent Offenders Program)
- Bike Unit
- SRT (Special Response Team)
Intelligence Unit
This unit is responsible for crime analysis, records, and identification, gang intelligence, and assisting officers in investigations. Three County Officers and three City Officers are assigned, along with one City Officer, which monitors the jail with the help of the Jail's Gang Intelligence Unit and the Attorney General's Office. These Officers educate throughout the community, law enforcement and schools by teaching gang awareness. This assists in the intervention and prevention of further gang problems.
Ten Point Coalition/Operation Courage
One supervisor and one Patrolman are currently assigned to this unit. The officers are liaisons between law enforcement Faith based organizations. Their purpose is to identify potential gang members with assistance of the city and county schools. These officers are also working on attacking the high rate of truancy in our target location, Frayser.
HOME (Home Orientation Mentorship Evaluation)
This program with parental approval places law enforcement, faith based organizations and service providers in place to assist truant and troubled youth. This effort is an attempt to decrease crimes by juveniles and give them a positive outlook.
Major Violators (Persistent Offenders Program)
This unit is a new initiative, which focuses on violent offender in the Memphis and Shelby County area. Gang members and/or violent repeat offenders as identified by their extensive criminal history will be investigated by this unit. They will also assist in the United States Attorney General's and ATF's “Project Exile”, which targets violent offenders and weapons (guns). The Shelby County Sheriff's Office S.W.A.T. team is currently assigned to this operation.
Bike Unit
This unit is operated with eight existing officers within the Special Operations Unit. They are used in crowd and traffic control for special events inside the City and County.
SRT Special Response Team
This unit is also staffed by existing officers assigned to the Special Operations Unit both City and county Officers. These officers have been trained to assist the S.W.A.T team in the area of mass casualties involved in hostage/shooting situations and/or terrorist activities. They have been trained to render aid and removal of victims from areas secured by the S.W.A.T team. They have been trained to assist S.W.A.T in HAZMAT situations (biological/chemical warfare) by FEMA and TEMA since 9/11/2001.