The Memphis Safe Task Force won’t release the names of more than 1,000 individuals it has arrested or provide details about the charges they face.
Arrest details and charges are routinely made available to the media and public to provide information about crimes taking place in communities and ensure transparency in the work of taxpayer-funded law enforcement.
But multiple law enforcement agencies that comprise the task force have either declined to release detailed arrest information or ignored requests seeking it.
A Department of Justice spokesperson provided last week a count of task force arrests by categories that include homicides, sex offenses, narcotics, firearms, probation/parole violations, ICE administrative warrants, “other,” and “warrants.” Arrests for outstanding warrants can range from misdemeanors to felony charges. ICE administrative warrants are not criminal warrants and indicate only that an ICE official determined a person is “removable from the United States.”
But the DOJ spokesperson cited “operational security” in declining to release the names and specific charges for each individual arrested.