The White House on Tuesday highlighted a nearly 36 percent decline in overall crime in Memphis one year after President Donald Trump established the Memphis Safe Task Force, citing reductions across major categories of crime and thousands of arrests.
The White House said overall crime in Memphis is down nearly 36 percent compared with the same period last year. Murders are down 36 percent, sexual assaults 28 percent, motor vehicle thefts 57 percent, robberies 42 percent, shoplifting 44 percent, and aggravated assaults 26 percent.
ONE YEAR since the Memphis Safe Task Force began, and the results are a resounding success.
After decades of Democrat-led, soft-on-crime failures, President Trump set out to enforce law-and-order policies in Memphis. In just one year, the city is completely revitalized. pic.twitter.com/vrk0VfPzxZ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 15, 2026
The city is also on pace for a 25-year low in overall crime, according to the White House. Across Shelby County, violent crime has declined by more than 30 percent while major property crime has fallen by more than 40 percent, the White House said.
Trump established the Memphis Safe Task Force on September 15, 2025, directing federal, state, and local agencies to coordinate efforts to address violent and property crime. The memorandum called for increased law enforcement coordination and resources in Memphis.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche also highlighted the task force’s one-year anniversary while holding a press briefing in the Rose Garden Tuesday, calling the progress “great work.”
The White House’s figures list 12,747 arrests as of September 15, including 131 homicide arrests, 1,363 narcotics arrests, 1,276 firearms-violation arrests, 125 sex-offense arrests, and 1,408 arrests of known gang members. The task force has also seized 2,160 illegal firearms and recovered 189 missing children.
Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis has previously pointed to broad-based reductions in crime across the city. During a Memphis City Council meeting in June, Davis said every precinct was experiencing reductions and that the department had not seen significant increases in any particular precinct.
“Less crime means less calls for service,” Davis said at the time.
The White House also noted that Memphis recorded fewer than 200 murders in 2025 for the first time since 2019.
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) marked the task force’s one-year anniversary by saying that Memphis residents have “reclaimed their beloved city.”
Governor Bill Lee thanked Trump for his “leadership to make Memphis safer and ensure every Tennessee family has the opportunity to thrive.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Memphis Safe Task Force” by Tennessee National Guard.
