Mayor Paul Young credited the deployment of the Memphis Safe Task Force last week for the city’s recent decline in crime, noting in a newsletter released by his office that October’s crime total fell to a level not seen since at least 2001.
Calling it “remarkable progress,” the mayor announced, “In September of 2025, before the Memphis Safe Task Force, we saw the fifth lowest crime numbers in a single month in the past ten years. And in October, we saw the single lowest monthly total since 2001 — and likely before that, but our system can reliably confirm the numbers back to 2001.”
Young (pictured above), a Democrat, specifically linked the reduction in crime to the state and federal deployment of assets to Memphis on September 29.
“Since the Memphis Safe Task Force launched, we’ve seen 3,348 fewer serious crimes citywide,” said Young, before adding that emergency calls for gunshots decreased by 53 percent.
“Each of those numbers represents safety restored and peace beginning to return,” said the mayor. “I think about our community and what we must keep doing to make sure next year, and the years after that, show the same level of decline.”
Over the course of 2025, the mayor reported that Memphis had seen 23,691 fewer serious crimes than in 2023, when the city’s crime rate reached its recent peak.
While Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Democrats in the Tennessee General Assembly have opposed the deployment, and recently obtained a judicial injunction to remove the Tennessee National Guard from the task force after claiming Governor Bill Lee exceeded his authority, Young previously told constituents that he viewed the task force as an opportunity to build on the city’s previous efforts to fight crime.
His willingness to cooperate with the task force recently earned Young praise from U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who said the mayor, “is truly concerned about the people of Memphis and he wants the city cleaned up.”
A City of Memphis data portal shows that authorities have made 3,096 arrests since the task force deployed. Of these, 1,309 were for felony offenses, and 1,787 for misdemeanors. It also shows that 439 of the offenses were violent.
Compared to 2024, the city has seen a 45 percent drop in serious crime reports and a 20 percent drop in all police calls. Authorities have also increased the clearance rate for criminal cases from 15 percent to 18 percent.
The portal also shows authorities have recovered 724 illegal firearms and 403 stolen vehicles since the task force deployed, while the U.S. Marshals Service recently announced that more than 100 missing children had been recovered with the task force’s support.
One missing child was reportedly recovered when the task force received a tip that the minor was living in a van at a construction site in Hawaii after being reported missing from the Volunteer State more than a month earlier.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Paul Young” by Paul Young. Background Photo “Tennessee National Guard” by Tennessee National Guard.Â
