After Memphis reported its lowest reported crime total since at least 2001, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Director David Rausch announced in a Tuesday letter to two Republican lawmakers representing Memphis that an audit of the crime reporting since the deployment of federal assets is accurate.
The letter came after State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and State Representative John Gillespie (R-Memphis) asked the TBI to audit the data supplied by law enforcement since FBI Director Kash Patel announced a surge of federal law enforcement to the city, as well as the crime statistics reported since the September 30 deployment of the Memphis Safe Task Force.
“The results of the Memphis Police Department’s audit were consistent with those of most departments,” wrote Rausch. “While there were some findings, neither the type nor the amount was unusual.”
Taylor, who shared the letter in a post to X, wrote that Rausch’s statement means Tennesseans can trust the reported drop in Memphis crime is accurate.
He noted that the City of Memphis has reported a 45 percent drop in all crime. Specific categories of crime saw even more substantial drops, as law enforcement reported a 71 percent decrease in motor vehicle thefts, 62 percent decrease in robberies, and a 49 percent drop in murders.
GOOD NEWS: After Representative John Gillespie @repgillespie and I received complaints about how MPD was tracking crime stats, we requested the TBI investigate to make sure there was correct classification and the statistics were consistent with state and FBI requirements. We… pic.twitter.com/FW7Y9fN5yU
— Senator Brent Taylor (@SenBrentTaylor) December 3, 2025
Local, state, and federal law enforcement have also made over 3,500 arrests, helped locate more than 100 missing children, and recovered 450 vehicles, since the task force deployed.
“Now that we know MPD’s crime data are accurate, the public can be reassured that the historic drops we are seeing are real. And we should be overjoyed,” wrote Taylor. “Pay close attention to who is partnering and celebrating the success and who is making excuses and not seizing this unprecedented opportunity to Make Memphis Safe.”
Gillespie also shared the letter in a post to X, writing, “We’ve said it time and time again, ‘the numbers don’t lie,’ and now the people of Memphis can have confidence that this really is the truth. With accurate data, the public can finally trust the results again, and we can confidently continue the work we’ve started to remove violent criminals from our streets and bring safety back to our city.”
– – –
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 “Tennessee National Guard Member” by Tennessee National Guard.Â
That must really upset the democrats. They apparently hate it when law and order prevails. If they supported law and order, the national guard wouldn’t of had to go in there in the first place.