Police welcome federal help as Memphis staffing shortages worsen

The Trump administration’s deployment of federal regulation enforcement officers to one among Tennessee’s bluest cities is being welcomed as a much-needed reprieve by native police combating deepening staffing shortages and astronomical crime charges.

Final month, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum mobilizing federal regulation enforcement officers to Memphis in an effort to fight crime charges and restore neighborhood security. The duty drive consists of federal companies such because the FBI, ATF and Homeland Safety Investigations becoming a member of the Tennessee Nationwide Guard, and is modeled after the deployment of officers in Washington, D.C.

“Town of Memphis, Tennessee, is struggling an amazing quantity of violent crime that has overwhelmed native authorities’s capability to reply successfully,” the president wrote.

TRUMP RECOMMENDS NATIONAL GUARD AND FBI TO MEMPHIS FOR NEW CRIME STEERING

A Memphis Police Division officer patrols with members of the Nationwide Guard, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Memphis, Tennessee. (AP Picture/George Walker IV)

The White Home didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.

The memorandum is backed by Republican Governor Invoice Lee, who instructions Guard troops deployed within the metropolis, and comes because the FBI releases new information from 2024 displaying Memphis had the best violent crime price within the nation.

Trump pointed to information from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation displaying that Memphis noticed a rise in reported violent crimes in 2024 — marking a stunning shift from the nationwide development that reveals crime charges have fallen throughout the nation.

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Federal regulation enforcement officers stand on the intersection of Beale Road and North Second Road in Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday, October 8, 2025. (AP Picture/George Walker IV)

Town additionally had about 1,250 violent crime incidents per 50,000 residents final yr, double the Nashville common and quadruple the state common. according to WSMV.

In 2025, Memphis has recorded 161 murders, with Trump revealing the town’s homicide price is greater than Chicago, Detroit, Washington, DC and different high-crime cities throughout the nation.

The federal government additionally checked out information displaying that murder charges in Memphis are about 4 instances greater than Mexico Metropolis and 27 instances greater than Havana, suggesting the town is extra harmful than areas overseas with greater crime charges.

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Members of the Nationwide Guard’s 117th Army Police Battalion and a Memphis Police Division officer conduct a neighborhood security patrol at Tom Lee Park in Memphis on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Picture/George Walker IV)

Nevertheless, Memphis police have disputed the narrative that the town is tormented by crime.

“Murder is at a six-year low, aggravated assault is at a five-year low and sexual assault is at a 20-year low,” the MPD mentioned in a information launch.

The MPD didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.

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Whereas metropolis information reveals the murder price has dropped 21% since 2024, the numbers seem to incorporate statistics from every calendar yr — with the total 2025 breakdown relying on the yr’s completion.

Scottie DeLashmit, president of the Tennessee State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, emphasizes that this transfer protects officers throughout the town at a time when native police are going through staffing shortages and low morale resulting from what he says is a relaxed bail coverage.

“Our president has determined that he’s coming to Memphis to attempt to deliver order and peace [the city]DeLashmit advised Fox Information Digital. “This is what we’re being advised, which I feel is a good concept. Nevertheless, if we do not get a greater prosecutor in Memphis, we are going to solely endanger further officers.”

MEMPHIS RESIDENTS DIVERSE ABOUT THE NATIONAL GUARD’S COMMITMENT TO FIGHT CITY CRIME

A Homeland Safety automobile is seen on the intersection of Beale Road and BB King Boulevard, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Memphis. (AP Picture/George Walker IV)

“If we do not prosecute the criminals after they’re arrested, we simply say, ‘Okay, this is a signature letter,’ and also you’re gone. What is the level of that officer’s duties? That prison is again on the road earlier than the officer has achieved the paperwork.”

The Trump administration additionally pointed to Shelby County’s lately carried out bail coverage within the presidential memorandum.

“In 2022, Shelby County overhauled its bail system on the behest of the Soros-funded District Lawyer’s Workplace, instituting money bail ‘as a final resort solely’ and counting on a system that usually leads to no bail,” the memo mentioned.

The Shelby County District Lawyer’s Workplace didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.

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A police officer on patrol with members of the Nationwide Guard, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Memphis. (AP Picture/George Walker IV)

DeLashmit additionally mentioned the disaster surrounding officer staffing and the police work setting, including that the Shelby County District Lawyer’s insurance policies relating to the discharge of detainees and the town’s “no-pursuit” coverage are “fairly disheartening” for these patrolling the streets.

“In Memphis, folks will run from this for no matter motive, simply because they know Memphis officers are usually not going to chase them as a result of they’ve a no-pursue coverage,” DeLashmit advised Fox Information Digital. ‘Not that it is best to merely pursue visitors [violations]. However for those who commit a heinous crime, equivalent to kidnapping, rape or theft, it is best to be capable of go after it.”

DeLashmit welcomes the Trump administration’s push to revive security in Memphis by deploying federal regulation enforcement officers, whereas highlighting the actual obstacles native regulation enforcement at the moment faces.

‘The officers are working plenty of extra time, which suggests they’re drained [and] their expertise won’t be 100%,” DeLashmit mentioned, including that response time for backup officers can also be prolonged and subsequently “not a protected setting” for the town’s residents.

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The primary troops arrived in Memphis on September 29 and have since made a whole bunch of arrests and issued greater than 2,800 visitors citations, federal officers say. told the Associated Press.

As the town continues to work with the Trump administration, DeLashmit hopes this transfer won’t solely deliver extra officers again to work, but additionally reinforce a way of security all through Memphis that he believes has lengthy been misplaced.

“After I was rising up, [Memphis] was a safer metropolis,” he mentioned. ‘It was well mannered. You can stroll all over the place, and hopefully we’ll get to that. I do know instances have modified and I am not naive. I do know it will not be the best way it was 30 years in the past, however possibly we are able to get again to a spot the place it is at the very least protected to stroll down the road with out worry of being shot.”

Fox Information Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.