Media

Operation Safe Community Action Plan

Release Date: October 25, 2006

PLAN WILL CALL ON LEADERS FROM BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT, FAITH COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC TO SUPPORT EFFORTS TO REDUCE CRIME

MEMPHIS, TN – The Operation Safe Community action plan to make Memphis and Shelby County one of the safest metropolitan areas in the country will be announced at an upcoming Crime Summit scheduled for Wednesday, November 29, 2006.

With the active support of Mayors W. W. Herenton and A C Wharton, United States Attorney David Kustoff, Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons, Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin and Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell have been working together on a proposed united plan and have established partnerships with an array of community, business and faith-based leaders.  These area leaders will be asked at the end of the November Crime Summit to pledge their support of the action plan and their help in making the plan succeed.

Planning for Operation Safe Community began in late 2005 – spearheaded by the four top law enforcement leaders and Mayors Wharton and Herenton – with planning and strategic support from Memphis Tomorrow, Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, and the Center for Community Research and Criminology at The University of Memphis.  The group announced the launch of Operation Safe Community in May of this year.

Eleven “research-based action areas” that address smart policing, aggressive prosecution, and effective law enforcement/community partnerships will anchor the Operation Safe Community action plan.  These action areas serve as the foundation for the comprehensive strategic plan to reduce crime.

The eleven action plan areas include:

1. Expanding police coverage and data-driven police deployment.

Research clearly shows that a strategic, targeted approach to deploying police resources reduces crime.   Along with a sufficient number of police, consistent, positive results are achieved when police resources are used in specific, proven ways.

2. Expanding effective law enforcement partnerships using the PSN model.

In 2004, gun-related homicides in Shelby County hit a 13 year low while the numbers of other gun-related crimes also plummeted. These drastic reductions were realized when federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors partnered to implement the Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) Initiative in Shelby County. The plan calls for designing and implementing ways to build and expand on PSN strategies to increase effective coordination among law enforcement agencies to combat upward trends in violent crime in recent months.

3. Strengthening state laws for gun crimes and violent gang crimes.

Research shows that reducing illegal possession of firearms reduces violent crime. In 2007, the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference will be urging the General Assembly to pass the “Crooks with Guns” bill and the “Street Terrorism” bill. Together, these pieces of legislation are designed to strengthen state laws relating to illegal gun possession and use of guns, as well as state laws regarding gang-related violence, much of which occurs with guns.

4. Reducing prosecutor caseloads.

Reducing prosecutor caseloads allows prosecutors to spend more time working on each of their cases, which, in turn, produces better results. The Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office is severely understaffed, which requires it to use a process called “horizontal prosecution” to handle most cases. Essentially, this is in an assembly line approach under which a case is handed off from one prosecutor to another as it progresses through the system. The plan calls for increasing the staff and budget to allow “vertical prosecution” of all violent crimes, which means the same prosecutor would handle a case from beginning to end.

5. Strengthening and expanding the specialized drug court.

The nationally recognized Shelby County Drug Court is as an effective tool in combating the serious drug problem in Shelby County by significantly reducing recidivism among misdemeanor offenders. Due to lack of funding, the Drug Court is currently operating at approximately half of its capacity. The action plan calls for expanding and institutionalizing funding to allow full-time operation of the Drug Court to provide cost savings associated with fewer incarcerations and a reduction in property crimes that are perpetrated by drug users.

6. Designing and implementing a comprehensive gang intervention strategy that builds on the U.S. Department of Justice’s gang initiative.

Gangs continue to contribute to violent and property crime in Memphis and Shelby County. In February, United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced a set of priorities and initiatives to guide the work of the U.S. Department of Justice. One of five priority areas is violent crime, with a special emphasis on gangs. Locally, the gang prevention initiative will be lead by U.S. Attorney David Kustoff, who will create a plan for local gang intervention that builds on the federal initiative and draws upon federal resources for support.

7. Designing and implementing a comprehensive youth violence intervention initiative.

The plan calls for creating comprehensive school safety plans for Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools, successfully completing and evaluating a pilot program to use mentoring as a tool to reduce truancy, creating a youth violence intervention plan, and expanding and sustaining youth offender re-entry initiatives.

8. Expanding and coordinating adult offender re-entry programs.

The release of serious, high-risk criminals after prison has long been a source of violent crime in the United States. This holds true for both adult and juvenile criminals. Successful re-entry programs significantly reduce repeat violent offenses. The plan calls for an intensive, comprehensive re-entry program of classification, analysis, job training, mentoring, fatherhood training and transitional services.

9. Establishing a proactive, coordinated “problem properties” system.

A substantial body of research connects blight with crime. Abandoned neighborhoods create negative environments that often become “crime generators.” These issues require that code enforcement, neighborhood groups, the environmental court and other stakeholders come together to proactively deal with blight. The plan calls for implementing a comprehensive system throughout Shelby County that builds on municipal code enforcement to combat blight and facilitates aggressive neighborhood redevelopment and revitalization.

10. Rebuilding a communication campaign that promotes tough consequences for crime.

Beginning in 1998, an aggressive media campaign was initiated to promote the D.A.’s “No Deals” policy. In 2002, the “Gun Crime Is Jail Time” message was added to the marketing effort. The campaign, funded primarily by federal grants but also by private donations and drug forfeiture funds, was a key component of the Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) Initiative. Research shows that the intensive media campaign helped reduce firearm offenses. However, as the intensity of the campaign decreased, the impact faded. The plan includes using the same successful communication techniques to promote tough sanctions to deter violent crime.

11. Implementing domestic violence initiative.

Domestic violence continues to be a critical issue facing the Memphis community. In 2005 there were more than 73,000 calls to 911 for domestic violence assistance and over 4,500 arrests. Several research-based strategies for reducing domestic violence are in development in Shelby County. These include the creation of a Family Safety Center to provide a “one stop shop” for victims of domestic violence, including advocacy, legal support, medical assistance and counseling; a Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence (CCRDV’s) to put procedures in place so that agencies work well together for victim safety and holding offenders accountable; and re-establishing a Domestic Violence Court.

The community’s top law enforcement and criminal justice leaders have long maintained individual agency strategic plans. Operation Safe Community will build on these individual plans and establish a united plan of attack.  The action plan will focus community resources and willpower around key priorities, enlist a broad cross-section of citizen support, and develop partnerships to help make the Memphis metropolitan area one of the safest in the country.

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