MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland responded to the recent wave of violent crime taking over our city, saying the problem is bigger than city government alone can handle and he needs help.
Strickland ran his campaign on the promise of reducing crime, so two months into the job, we wanted to know where that campaign promise stands.
A string of shootings and stabbings over the last couple of days has left those who live in Memphis worried that instead of getting better, crime in their city is getting worse.
It's not just a feeling; it's reality. Since January, 45 people have been killed in Memphis.
"This problem we're having in America really. Our violent culture is way beyond what local governments can do by themselves. We need the community involved," Strickland said.
Strickland said a shortage of officers contributes to the problem, but he's got more officers patrolling today than 30 days ago. They work overtime to compensate while the city prepares to hire 250 more.
"We have to go out and recruit more police officers," he said. "We have a hiring class this spring and one in the fall."
What about his campaign promise? Strickland made a promise to make Memphis streets safer, bring back data-driven police where officers saturate crime-ridden areas of the city.
"It's tough, and there's not going to be a short-term solution. It's going take some time to turn this around, but I'm very optimistic that we're going to do it," Strickland said.
Strickland said policing is only part of his solution.
"We'll have a program that we reach out to businesses to try to sponsor our community centers to give kids something productive when they're not in school," he said.
Putting more people to work is another way he plans to reduce crime.
"We're working very hard on job training. We have thousands of jobs in Memphis that cannot be filled, so we're working very hard with the state and the county on job training opportunities," the mayor said.
For those hard core criminals, Strickland has another plan for them.
"We're working with the state legislature to increase the penalty for violent crime, particularly domestic violence, this session," he said.
Currently someone arrested 10 times for domestic violence gets the same misdemeanor charge as someone arrested for the first time. Strickland wants to make it like DUI where after the first two offenses, the penalty gets more serious.
Strickland said he also supports the district attorney's gang injunctions that make it against the law for gang members to congregate. A defense attorney is currently challenging one of those cases in Memphis, saying it's unconstitutional.