Crime rates in Shelby County are declining, with six consecutive quarters of double-digit percentage drops in violent and nonviolent offenses. “We’re not popping any champagne corks just yet,” said District Attorney Steve Mulroy on WKNO/Channel 10's Behind the Headlines. “But at least the trend lines are moving in the right direction.”
Mulroy credited the progress to his office's strategic partnerships with law enforcement and community groups, along with broader demographic and economic trends.
He highlighted the V-11 initiative, launched in early 2024, which accelerates the prosecution of 11 violent crime categories, applies stricter bail standards, and utilizes jail call monitoring for evidence. “Sometimes we’ve been able to actually hear [defendants] planning crimes,” Mulroy said. “And we’ve been able to prevent crimes from taking place in the first place.”
Despite progress, Mulroy remains a target of political criticism. A resolution from Republican State Sen. Brent Taylor urged the state Supreme Court to investigate Mulroy, though efforts to remove him failed. “There was never a case for removal or even investigation,” Mulroy said. He called the resolution “a face-saving bit of window dressing.”
Criminal justice reform advocates have also criticized Mulroy for being more punitive than expected. “I have not shifted. I’ve been doing what I was elected to do,” he said. “We are enforcing the law.”
Mulroy defended bail reform using a University of Memphis report. “It didn’t do any of the things that the critics had complained about,” he said. “What it did do, though, was provide extrajudicial review and access to attorneys for indigent defendants… without jeopardizing public safety.”
On court system transparency, Mulroy agreed that “the data is a mess.” He noted recent progress in data-sharing but said more improvements, including public dashboards, are needed.
His office reinstated the “60-day list” to reduce court case delays and increase trial scheduling. “Only 1 to 2 percent of cases go to trial nationwide,” he said. “If the plea deal is a fair one, then great, let’s not waste time with the trial. The trials are for the ones that we can’t settle.”
Addressing jail conditions, Mulroy acknowledged recent deaths and faulty infrastructure. “Some of those people in that jail are, in fact, innocent,” he said. “They have not been convicted of any crime, and they are entitled to humane conditions and decent treatment and getting out as quickly as possible.” But he said public safety, not jail conditions, drives bail decisions.
Mulroy expressed concern about the legislature's failure to pass a bill that would have prohibited release on recognizance for gun-related assaults. "Judges should have discretion to look at the facts of individual cases. That's why we elect them. I think a one-size-fits-all approach is not the answer."
Wrapping up, Mulroy confirmed that his office is not involved in the city's Downtown safety initiative, which is tied to state funding for FedExForum renovations. However, he did emphasize the importance of increased state investment in forensic resources. Mulroy discussed the need to enhance rapid DNA analysis, cell phone data recovery, and ballistics testing capabilities.
