Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy says the Memphis Safe Task Force has produced measurable gains and significant stress on the local criminal justice system. Appearing on this week's WKNO/Channel 10 "Behind the Headlines" with host Eric Barnes and Daily Memphian reporter Bill Dries, Mulroy described the initiative as a mix of successes and setbacks.
"I think that there is both good and bad about the Memphis Safe Task Force, and I think we are entitled to identify both the good and the bad," Mulroy said.
Mulroy attributed the reduction in outstanding warrants in Shelby County to the efforts of trained federal law enforcement agents. He noted that the decline in crime, which began before the task force was established, has continued throughout its operation.
"I think the already downward trend in crime that we had seen well before the federal task force came has accelerated thanks to the Federal Task Force, and we should be grateful for that," he said.
However, he was highly critical of other aspects of the initiative. Regarding the National Guard's involvement, Mulroy stated, "I don't think the National Guard has been much help at all. I think it's been a waste of money."
He also argued that federal involvement has concentrated too much on arrests, neglecting to provide sufficient support for what happens afterward. "All the feds have been doing is helping us on the front end with arrests. They haven't been helping us on the back end, which means that we've got overwhelmed clerk's offices and an already overcrowded jail being even more ridiculously overcrowded," Mulroy said. "Love to see some federal help on the back end as well."
Mulroy said additional funding for court personnel and jail operations could help manage the surge in cases. He also said the state could assist, noting that while lawmakers have discussed backlogs and clearance rates, "there are things that the state government already could have been doing."
Mulroy criticized immigration enforcement, stating that about one in five arrests made by the federal task force are related to immigration. In most of these cases, "the overwhelming majority, I mean overwhelming majority, the only charge is not lawfully present in the United States."
"Arresting, law-abiding, tax-paying people who have lived in our communities for decades peacefully, tearing them apart from their families, that's not making Memphis safer. I think it's making Memphis less safe," Mulroy said.
He cautioned that strict immigration enforcement could prevent victims and witnesses from cooperating with local law enforcement.
"If they think that they or someone they loved is going to be deported, if they have any contact with the criminal justice system, they're not going to do that," he said.
As the task force winds down, Mulroy said Shelby County will be left processing "many thousands of cases" generated during its operation. He said he would like to see the National Guard and ICE leave, but added that he "wouldn't mind seeing a rump residue of federal law enforcement agents, maybe 15 % to remain on maybe on a longer-term basis to help us."
Despite seven consecutive quarters of declining crime rates, Mulroy acknowledged that the Shelby County Jail remains at full capacity. He questioned whether all those who are detained actually need to be there.
"I think too many of the people that are in the jail right now probably don't need to be in the jail," he said.
Some individuals remain in jail merely because they cannot afford to pay bail, he said, adding, "We need to do a better job of sifting this, separating wheat from chaff."
At the same time, Mulroy defended his office's policies in serious violent cases. Through the V-11 program, prosecutors concentrate on 11 specific types of violent or violence-related offenses and are instructed to carefully consider a defendant's criminal history when making bail recommendations. Mulroy expressed his support for a proposed constitutional amendment that would permit judges to deny bail entirely in violent cases.
The DA also spoke about legislation introduced by State Sen. Brent Taylor and State Rep. John Gillespie. This legislation would mandate that his office provide additional reports on felony case outcomes related to the Memphis Safe Task Force and Operation Viper. Mulroy stated that existing state law already requires all district attorneys to report on these matters, deeming the new proposal unnecessary.
"To call this bill a solution in search of a problem would be giving it too much credit," Mulroy said. "It is duplicative, it is unnecessary, but it is also burdensome."
He said the bill would require his office to "disaggregate and tease out separately just those cases that come from either Operation Viper or the Memphis Task Force and then report just those out to six different government agencies every 24 hours."
Mulroy said the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference voted to oppose the bill.
Looking ahead, Mulroy stated his aim is to further reduce crime rates to at least the national average.
"Crime is still too high. We've been coming down from an unacceptably high level. We still have a ways to go," he said.
He added that in a high-density urban area with persistent poverty and widespread access to firearms, crime will never be zero. "I think what's reasonable … is maybe, you know, get at or below the national average."
As the task force concludes its work, Mulroy stated that the immediate challenge will be managing the high volume of cases it has generated.
“For us, it's just going to be processing the many thousands of cases that we've had since the Federal Task Force arrived. And that's going to take many months,” he said.
