FINAL REPORT

Facilitator: Dr. Elma Mardis

Researcher: Richard Janikowski, Center for Community Criminology and Research, University of Memphis

CRIME

Overall, reported crime in the United States, as measured by the Uniform Crime Reports, has been falling over the past decade (significantly, the National Crime Victimization Survey indicates that this trend began over twenty-five years ago.). However, as has been noted by a number of criminologists, much of this decrease in reported crime has been fueled by developments in a limited number of very large cities. Moreover, many criminologists warn that this decrease cannot continue indefinitely, with some suggesting that the figures for 2000 released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation may be signaling an end to this trend. In Memphis, it appears that Part I crimes have increased in all categories except forcible rape.

UCR Part I Crime Data - 1999 & 2000

Moreover, while reported crime in Memphis has decreased over the past years, and remains significantly below the historic highs seen in the 1990's, these decreases have not been as dramatic as in some other cities and the issue of crime, and arguably of equal importance fear of crime among municipal residents, remains at the forefront of civic concern. At the same time it is important to bear in mind that crime in Memphis is substantially lower than in a number of other cities of similar size and demographic composition, ie., St. Louis and Baltimore. Baltimore, for example, has in the past reported three times as many homicides as Memphis.

PARTNERSHIPS

There is a strong track record in Memphis and Shelby County supporting the ability of government, civic, and community leaders to form problem-solving partnerships. These partnerships have taken numerous forms spanning the gamut from inter-agency taskforces and units (for example, development of the Metro Gang Unit, Operation Courage, and SACSI) to corporate and community partnerships (for example, the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission.) Other partnerships involving neighborhood organizations (i.e., Weed and Seed, Community Court, and Drug Dealer Eviction program,) the faith community (Ten Point Coalition,) and individuals and other organizations (CASA, Memphis Mentoring Partnership) have demonstrated that successful crime control strategies require participation by broad segments of the community. Current research has amply demonstrated that crime is a community problem, and traditionally narrow definitions of law enforcement activity are inadequate to effectively confront crime and its related problems in our communities. This history of successful partnerships provides the foundation for development of a successful comprehensive planning strategy.

CHALLENGES

1. Changing racial and ethnic demographics in the city and county pose new challenges to the development of public safety strategies in the community. In particular, the emergence of growing Hispanic (for example, according to the 2000 census now comprising over 23,000 residents - which also probably represents a substantial undercount of the true Hispanic population¹) and Asian communities pose new challenges in providing services, responding to community needs, and effectively addressing new populations entering the criminal justice system. Cultural diversification requires the development of renewed sensitivity to the needs and concerns of new groups of residents and the design of innovative strategies and programs to identify evolving needs and address community and resident concerns.

2. Changing age demographics suggest the need to examine the ability of current public safety strategies and programs to respond to the simultaneous graying of the metro population along with projected increases in the population of young persons under the age of 24. During the 1990's births in Shelby county approached the level of the "Baby Boom" era and accounted for all of the population growth in the county during the decade. These groups have dramatically different needs and will require the development and provision of different services.

3. Economic and housing issues

A. Poverty remains endemic in the City of Memphis and poses serious challenges regarding community development and public safety.

B. Economic development, while beneficial to the city as a whole, can create new demands for public safety services and strain already limited resources (for example, downtown business revival, including an emerging entertainment district with accompanying new public safety issues, and/or housing development, such as new housing downtown and new developments in other areas of the city, i.e., Uptown.)

C. Nationwide recruiting has become more difficult for criminal justice agencies. At the same time, changes in expected service delivery and agency organization and function require better trained personnel, both to meet changing demands and to alleviate threats of potential litigation based on inadequate training.²

D. Changes in housing patterns³ require development of new strategies and programs. While historically Memphis has had relatively high rates of home ownership among the low income population, in recent years younger low income people have not been becoming homeowners, leading to dramatic changes in home ownership rates in certain neighborhoods. Moreover, changes in public housing programs are increasing the number of households placed in Section 8 housing (including at-risk populations previously living in public housing,) decreasing the availability of traditional public housing (with HUD expecting that virtually all public housing in Memphis will be closed within the next five years,) and creating new alternatives, such as Hope VI developments. Preliminary evidence suggests that these program changes are "clustering" low income individuals in certain neighborhoods leading often to housing deterioration and crime "hotspots." Simultaneously, recent research has demonstrated that new strategies are necessary to empower neighborhoods to adequately address "problem properties" in their midst which act as magnets for crime and lead to neighborhood decline and, in some cases, abandonment. At the same time, an exodus from the inner city accompanied by annexations of unincorporated areas by the city push the population and the city’s boundaries farther and farther outward.⁴ Demands for service can increasingly tax police services absent coordinated planning and investment.

E. Technological change poses new challenges (i.e., the growth of Internet crime) to law enforcement and requires new training for officers and the development of expertise previously not required on the part of local law enforcement. Moreover, emerging technologies involving data-sharing, crime analysis, and crime mapping require criminal justice agencies to develop a new levels of technical sophistication and to recruit and train personnel with these new skills. Furthermore, experience from other cities compellingly demonstrates the need for such sophisticated crime analysis capacity if significant reductions in crime are to be achieved.

F. Drug abuse continues to permeate the community. Responses to drug abuse, and the relationship between crime and drug use, need to expand upon current initiatives, such as the Drug Court, while at the same time examining creation of a comprehensive, integrated strategy for reducing drug use and dependence. Funding needs to be identified to provide a permanent basis for treatment services and aftercare.

G. Violent crime continues at high rates throughout the nation. Traditionally, increases in homicide presage increases in other violent crime. As a result, the increase in homicide in Memphis from 1999 to 2000, while not to be taken as a harbinger of a new crime plague, should be examined carefully to determine if new strategies need to designed and implemented. Domestic violence remains a serious concern in the community and, while an innovative Domestic Violence Court has been established, its future appears somewhat cloudy and support for the Domestic Violence Assessment Center is uncertain.

H. Corrections will remain an area needing substantial attention. Jail conditions remain a critical issue confronting the community. Resolution of both the acute and long-term problems at the jail, which have led to oversight by a federal judge, demand careful planning and substantial future investment. Recruiting additional personnel, providing necessary training, ensuring inmate security, and developing programs for inmates are high priorities. At the Shelby County Corrections Center, the development and expansion of programs ensuring services to reintegrate inmates into the community will be an important issue in the future. Recruiting and training qualified personnel will be a pressing issue, as with all other criminal justice agencies.

I. Reentry of individuals completing prison sentences poses special challenges to the community in future years. Over the past two decades the number of persons sentenced to prison terms increased dramatically. While criminologists continue to debate the efficacy of these increases in reducing crime, what is not in doubt is that most of these individuals will be returning to the community in the near future. Designing programs to monitor and assist returning offenders will be an increasing priority in the future.

1. Creation of a Justice System Coordinating Council

RECOMMENDATION: City and county officials should create a Justice System Coordinating Council, chaired by the Criminal Justice Coordinator, to facilitate planning, program development, data sharing, and interagency agency cooperation.

Within each unit of government there is a multitude of divisions or agencies whose mission directly or indirectly impacts on criminal justice within Memphis and Shelby County. The various elements of Shelby County Government that have some role in the operation of the Criminal Justice System are generally empowered to do so independently. The Sheriff, the District Attorney, the Judges, and the Clerks of the Courts are, for instance, elected. That election by the voters confers upon them the authority to carry out their duties as they see fit. Other County officials such as the Victims Assistance Coordinator, Probation and Parole officers, and the Director of the Division of Corrections are appointed by and responsible to the Chief Executive of the County. The Director of Police Services for the City of Memphis is appointed by the Mayor, while chiefs of police of the various other municipal police departments in the county are appointed through a number of mechanisms. Selection by any of these methods does not negate the necessity of a coordinated effort in order to achieve the success that each individual office head is seeking. Recently, justice agencies within the city and the county entered into a Memorandum of Understanding creating the position of Criminal Justice Coordinator. However, at present no formal structure exists to coordinate the discussion, formulation and promulgation of criminal justice issues within the city and the county. The absence of a formal coordinating structure requires intensive individual efforts at communication and coordination and, generally, results in incomplete communication between relevant organizations which detracts from otherwise well devised ideas. Best practices research has identified such coordination as a necessary element for any effective long-range plan for the reduction of crime in any geographical area. Simply put, the absence of a formal structure that provides a forum for the open discussion of new ideas and the collective consideration of the potential impact of those ideas limits the opportunities for long-term success. A model worth examining is the East Bay Public Safety Corridor Partnership which has been identified in the literature as a "best practice" effort for accomplishing the goal of a regional strategic planning program through:

* Cooperative strategic planning which allows agencies and jurisdictions to reap the benefits of cooperation without sacrificing autonomy;

* Prioritizing activities to maximize program impact, effectiveness and efficiency;

* Allowing agencies to learn from each other about what works, what doesn't and what looks promising in the research;

* Integrating multi-agency resources for program implementation by thinking comprehensively; and

* Moving the discussion beyond one program to a SYSTEM OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICE DELIVERY.

The East Bay Partnership has implemented highly successful initiatives in three general areas:

* Community Mobilization and Community Policing as evidenced by such initiatives as youth academies, domestic violence protocol's and community oriented policing programs;

* Information sharing collaboratives such as region wide information networks for law enforcement, and public policy data libraries; and

* Youth violence prevention, intervention and aftercare programs such as youth gun initiatives, truancy prevention, gang diversion programs, extended day programs, safe passage home programs, and safe futures programs.

Evaluations of the East Bay Partnership have demonstrated that coordination (1) increases citizen confidence in the criminal justice system, (2) serves as a model for the state as a whole, (3) provides leadership for anti-crime initiatives, (4) increases efficiency, and (5) results in fully informed directors who are proactive rather than reactive. In addition, the collaborative has been very successful in obtaining substantial grant funding for innovative initiatives addressing crime and safety issues.

Consideration should be given to extending the role of the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Committee to encompass the activities of a Justice System Coordinating Council.

2. Integration of the Division of Police Services into City planning and development initiatives.

RECOMMENDATION: Early participation by the Memphis Police Department in City planning efforts involving geographic growth, housing and business development, and service delivery.

The geographic growth of the City through annexation, the development of downtown, population growth outside the loop, accompanied by economic development all confront law enforcement with new challenges in providing services. In addition, new developments in crime control and prevention strategies demonstrate that application of principles from evolving paradigms, such as environmental criminology (including Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design,) targeted enforcement against "problem properties," and proactive policing initiatives (including expansion of the department’s current emphasis on community policing) can have significant impact on the incidence of crime. However, to effectively maximize the impact of these strategies it is critical that law enforcement agencies be involved on the "front end." When planning for a new stadium, entertainment district, or housing initiative is undertaken, the police department’s expertise in crime prevention and control should be harnessed at the beginning of the project not after the project has been completed and concerns about safety begin to evolve. In the same vein, annexation initiatives should be undertaken only after a comprehensive review of the police department’s capacity to extend services to areas newly incorporated into the city and the effect of these demands on the department’s resources capacity.

A. Annexation planning.

RECOMMENDATION: The Memphis Police Department should be involved at all stages of annexation planning to ensure that the Department’s resources are not over extended and that sufficient resources are available to effectively police newly annexed areas.

Annexation can severely strain police resources. While providing the city with new revenue sources and ensuring that the municipality does not become landlocked (as happened, for example, to the detriment of St. Louis,) annexation can severely strain available public safety resources. For example, annexation of the Hickory Hill area added over 14 square miles and increased the city’s population by approximately 50,000. Adequately servicing new areas requires careful advanced planning to ensure (1) adequate staffing and equipment levels based on forecasts of calls for service, (2) sensible precinct and ward boundaries, and (3) a reasonable time line for funding and construction of new facilities. These concerns can only be effectively addressed by the early and full inclusion of police department representatives in annexation planning.

B. Entertainment District Planning.

RECOMMENDATION: A broad based planning effort should be adopted for the emerging entertainment district to anticipate, forecast and preempt threats to public safety.

Growth in the downtown area, and in particular development of a new entertainment district, places substantial stresses on all elements of the criminal justice system. Changes in the utilization of space, in terms of types of activities, persons involved, and time and days of the activities, require new models of service delivery demanding comprehensive planning by both the private and public sector. Currently, the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission and the Center City Commission are leading a planning process to integrate public safety planning into the emerging downtown entertainment district prior to construction of the planned NBA arena. Such planning efforts should be an integral part of any entertainment district development undertaken in the city.

C. Evolution of Public Housing.

RECOMMENDATION: The report being prepared by the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission on delivery of police and safety services in public housing should be used as the basis for planning initiative to address the changing safety and security needs in public housing.

New mandates from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development along with initiatives undertaken by the Memphis Housing Authority (MHA) and the City’s Division of Housing and Community Development require a re-examination of the mechanisms currently used to deliver police and safety services to public housing residents. Expansion of Section 8 housing, construction of new developments under Hope VI funding, and the closing of a substantial number of MHA developments, will require re-configuration of the responsibilities of MHA’s Security Department and re-deployment of resources by the Memphis Police Department. Currently, the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission is completing a report addressing the delivery of police services in public housing; this report should become the basis for planning a new strategy for police service delivery to public housing residents.

3. Consideration of consolidation of public safety services.

RECOMMENDATION: Consolidation of all or selected portions of public safety services should be considered based upon the findings of the Best Practices Report currently under development by the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission.

 

Consolidation of City and County government has, unquestionably, been a contentious issue in the past. However, past debates should not prevent careful consideration of possible consolidation of public safety services where necessary to eliminate duplication and exclusion of services. Current examples of consolidated units, for example, the Metro Gang Unit, raise intriguing questions about possible avenues for future partnerships between city and county police departments. Consolidation of public safety services can be considered apart from discussions concerning Metro government and can be examined in light of a research based methodology addressing the effectiveness of consolidation in terms of efficiency, cost, service delivery, and the impact on crime. The Best Practices Report being prepared by Memphis Shelby Crime Commission should be used as a foundation for the exploration of possible avenues for consolidation of all or selected elements of public safety services.

4. Accreditation for the Memphis Police Department.

RECOMMENDATION: The Memphis Police Department should strongly consider applying for accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

Formed in 1979, the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) has established a national body of standards "designed to (1) increase law enforcement agency capabilities to prevent and control crime; (2) increase agency effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of law enforcement services; (3) increase cooperation and coordination with other law enforcement agencies and with other agencies of the criminal justice system; and (4) increase citizen and employee confidence in the goals, objectives, policies, and practices of the agency." (CALEA, Standards Manual of the Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation Program, 4^th ed. (1999). In addition, based on the national standards, CALEA has developed a voluntary accreditation process through which law enforcement agencies have the opportunity to demonstrate satisfactory fulfillment of these national professional standards.

Currently, the Memphis Police Department is the only large police department in the State of Tennessee not accredited by CALEA. Attaining accreditation will ensure that the department is operating effectively and efficiently while demonstrating to the citizens of the city its commitment to excellence.

5. Adoption of a Problem Properties Strategy.

RECOMMENDATION: The City of Memphis should implement the findings and recommendations contained in the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission’s Best Practice Number Ten: Fixing Broken Windows-Strategies to Strengthen Housing Code Enforcement and Related Approaches to Community-Based Crime Prevention in Memphis.

As noted in Memphis Shelby Crime Commission’s Best Practice Number Ten: Fixing Broken Windows-Strategies to Strengthen Housing Code Enforcement and Related Approaches to Community-Based Crime Prevention in Memphis (Best Practice Number Ten,) a substantial body of scholarship has demonstrated "that physical neglect as well as non-violent ‘quality of life’ offenses increase fear of crime, empty neighborhoods of people who have a choice of where to live, and ultimately cede space to increasingly predatory individuals and more dangerous crimes against property and people." As a result, it has become evident that effective crime reduction and control strategies must include more than conventional law enforcement approaches. In essence, since "problem properties" attract and aggravate criminal activity in deteriorated or declining neighborhoods, any effective crime control strategy must address the "problem properties" extant in the city.

Best Practices Number Ten offers a set of recommendations for the design and implementation of a comprehensive problem properties strategy in the City of Memphis. These recommendations are derived from an extensive analysis of the strengths and limitations of code enforcement as a basic anti-neglect strategy, and from an analysis of urban housing markets and the relationship between poverty, low-income housing and neighborhood blight. The recommendations contained in Best Practice Number Ten should be implemented by the City, in cooperation with community-based organizations and property owners and managers, within a reasonable time frame.

6. Creation of a Victim’s Services Council.

RECOMMENDATION: City and county officials should create a Victim’s Services Council modeled on the Domestic Violence Council to facilitate inter-agency communication, program development and integration, and development of a continuum of services for victim’s of crime.

A number of agencies in Memphis and Shelby County provide excellent services to crime victims. Among these agencies are Shelby County Victim’s Assistance, the Memphis Sexual Assault Resource Center, Child Advocacy Center, and the Victim/Witness coordinators in the District Attorney General and U.S. Attorney’s offices. At times, however, victims still must struggle to discover their rights, determine the services and resources available to them, and find out how to access them. Sometimes even service providers are not aware of the availability of services and resources and how to access them. In the City of Denver, a "best practices" model recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Victim’s Services, recognition of this problem led to the development of a common vision and structure for an integrated, model service network. This vision became the foundation for Denver VS2000’s guiding philosophy that there should be "no wrong door" through which victims can access services. Focus groups conducted during the planning process also highlighted the need for advocates who are part of the community they serve and the need for cultural competency training for service providers. Other needs identified by the project included a shared case management system, more effective information and referral, better communication between providers, and better service provision in general. Development of an online Resource Directory and an interagency Cross-Training Plan addressed the need for appropriate referrals by providing easy access to information about resources and a vehicle for increasing knowledge and trust among agencies.

Victim’s services agencies in the area already engage in a number of informal mechanisms for sharing information and facilitating inter-agency communication. However, similar to the situation besetting criminal justice agencies, the absence of a formal structure requires intensive individual efforts at communication and coordination and may result in incomplete communication between relevant organizations which detracts from otherwise well devised ideas. A model for such a council already exists in the metropolitan area - the Domestic Violence Council. Providing an on-going structure for inter-agency communication and cooperation, the Council has been instrumental in the creation of such innovative programs such as the Domestic Violence Court and the Domestic Violence Assessment Center. Creation of a Victim’s Services Council will substantially further efforts at ensuring that no victim will enter the "wrong door" when seeking services.

7. Greater coordination between Neighborhood Watch and Neighborhood Watch, Inc.

RECOMMENDATION: Increased coordination between the Memphis Police Department’s Neighborhood Watch and Neighborhood Watch, Inc. to ensure coordinated planning and service delivery.

Currently two Neighborhood Watch organizations co-exist in the City of Memphis. One is operated by the Memphis Police Department while the other, neighborhood Watch, Inc., is a private non-for-profit corporation. As a result, citizen confusion often results regarding the activities of the two organizations, services and initiatives overlap and/or are duplicated, and planning is disjointed with a concomitant dissipation of scarce resources. Increased cooperation between the two organizations is necessary to ensure that all areas of the City have access to the resources and expertise for the creation of local Neighborhood Watch organizations.

Notes: