History

The Crime Commission is a private, non-profit corporation governed by a diverse 50-member board of directors. It is the leading community-based entity focused on public safety. Since its creation in 1997, the Crime Commission’s mission has been to improve public safety by identifying and advocating best practices to prevent and reduce crime. Such practices have included:

• Creation of a drug treatment court.
• Creation of a domestic violence court.
• Data-driven policing.
• An increase in Memphis police officers based on a needs assessment.
• Use of the state’s nuisance act to crack down on specific locations with criminal activity and to create geographic safety zones to protect against criminal gang activity.
• Aggressive prosecution of gun crime.
• Creation of the Family Safety Center to assist victims of domestic violence.
• Creation and expansion of the Multi-Agency Gang Unit.
• Effective implementation of the state’s system of administrative sanctions for violations of probation and parole.
• A communications campaign to convey the consequences of engaging in gun crime.
• Development of a system of intensive supervision and appropriate treatment for serious  juvenile offenders.
• Creation of a focused deterrence initiative targeted at serious repeat offenders responsible for much of our crime.
• Violence intervention efforts at the street level to head off acts of retaliatory violence.

Beginning in 2006, the Crime Commission began to carry out its mission by overseeing the development of a Safe Community Action Plan based on best practices. In addition, it has taken on the roles of galvanizing diverse leaders and stakeholders to implement and support the plan, monitoring progress toward implementation, and measuring the plan’s impact. It is the only entity responsible for developing and pursuing a true community-wide plan to reduce crime.

The fourth five-year Safe Community Plan was launched in 2017 and is now being implemented. The ambitious but realistic plan to dramatically reduce crime in the Memphis community includes twenty Action Steps. Sheriff Floyd Bonner chairs the overall implementation effort.

Through a partnership with the Public Safety Institute at the University of Memphis, various parts of the Safe Community Plan are being independently assessed after implementation to determine their effectiveness.