Ford
The Memphis City Council plans to begin a conversation next month to see what — if anything — they can do to help stem the city’s rising homicide rate.
Council budget chairman Edmund Ford Jr. reminded council members Tuesday that the city has had 95 homicides so far this year. Also, he said he knew council members were searching for ways to help neutralize the problem.
“We can have an argument for more police officers but if the system lets people in and out and in out, it doesn’t matter how many officers you have,” Ford said. “It’s a process that needs to be looked at.”
Ford said he hopes to bring Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich to city hall on Tuesday, July 19 to “see what that [part of the criminal justice] system looks like and to see if there’s anything we can do to fix it.”
Further, Ford said he hopes to bring in Shelby County Environmental Court Judge Larry Potter to speak to the council as well as another sitting judge.
Ford said he the talks could yield some changes in the criminal justice system that council members could take to the Tennessee General Assembly next year.
