Memphis, TN – May 1, 2024 – Our community has a lot of positive momentum. Blue Oval City and related businesses should bring thousands of good-paying jobs to Shelby Countians. Our tourism industry is booming, with over 12 million visitors in 2023. In 2023, a record of more than 4.2 million people flew to Memphis International Airport with Memphis as their final destination point. We have a new convention center, a reimagined Tom Lee Park, and the new Memphis Art Museum under construction downtown. The University of Memphis is now an R1 top-tier national research university. Downtown is surrounded by a booming medical community, with St. Jude. LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, and the UT Health Science Center all expanding. The key to building on this momentum is to get a handle on our unacceptably high crime rate. We saw some encouraging signs during the latter part of 2023. For the entire year, though, crime rates in almost all major categories moved in the wrong direction compared to 2022. That includes major violent crime (driven primarily by an increase in reported robberies), major property crime (driven mainly by reported vehicle thefts and break-ins), reported domestic violence, and overall crime. [use the link below to continue reading this report]