Memphis Crime Plunge: Task Force Slashes Crime 34%

Memphis crime has dropped to its lowest level in 25 years under President Donald Trump’s federal public-safety task force, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Friday at a roundtable in the city marking just over a year of the operation.

The Memphis Safe Task Force, launched last fall, pairs federal agents and prosecutors with state and local law enforcement. Blanche said overall crime is down 34 percent compared with last year — a decline he argued is already changing daily life across the city.

Murders Down 33%, Car Thefts Cut in Half

Officials laid out a detailed picture of the declines. Murders are down 33 percent, sexual assaults down 25 percent, robberies down 40 percent, and aggravated assaults down 24 percent, while motor vehicle thefts have fallen 54 percent.

The task force has also recovered 196 missing or endangered children and returned them to safety, officials said. Federal data shows the operation has produced more than 13,000 arrests — including murderers, sex offenders, drug traffickers, and other violent offenders — and taken more than 2,200 illegal firearms off the streets.

Blanche credited close cooperation between federal, state, and local agencies, and said the administration wants to replicate the model in other cities, naming Chicago as an example where a similar joint effort could be tried.

Task Force Stays in Memphis

Speaking to Newsmax at the roundtable, Blanche made clear the federal presence is not winding down. “We’re not done. We’re not leaving Memphis,” he said, adding that federal agents and prosecutors would maintain their involvement while working alongside local authorities.

Just two years ago, Memphis carried the highest rate of violent crime per capita in the country — a fact administration officials cited as the reason the city was chosen for the experiment, modeled on the earlier DC Safe Task Force.

Source: Tennessee Lookout