This story was originally published by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Subscribe to their newsletter here.
Many of the arrests made since the Memphis Safe Task Force began its work have been for traffic violations and drug charges, despite its stated focus on violent crime, according to new data shared with MLK50: Justice Through Journalism.
“This is supposed to be a ‘Make Memphis Safe Task Force,’ and really what it is, is a ‘Make Memphis Drive the Speed Limit Task Force,'” said General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer, whose office will make the data public through a new dashboard on Thursday.
So far, there hasn’t been an influx of new cases involving violent crimes, said Jonathan Bennett, associate director of the University of Memphis’ Center for Community Research and Evaluation. Bennett worked on the dashboard with Vishant Shah, chief data and analytics officer at the clerk’s office.
“The data shows there is an increase in traffic stop-related and narcotics arrests. Felony and misdemeanor arrests remain about 50/50,” Bennett said.