Memphis and Shelby County Crime Commission

Wendi Thomas

A local journalist, joined by a national news outlet, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Memphis and Shelby County Crime Commission (MSCC), contending that its records should be open to the public.

The suit was filed in Shelby County Chancery Court by Wendi Thomas, founder of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, along with leaders from The Marshall Project, a New York-based nonprofit news organization.

According to the petitioners, the MSCC denied multiple records requests, including requests for the details surrounding a $6.1 million police retention grant the commission announced in October.

Thomas and the other petitioners also requested information including how the commission operates, what its policies are, and details of its interactions with the Memphis Police Department and others.

The suits says, in part, that because the MSCC is “the functional equivalent of a government agency, it’s records are, therefore, public records subject to the access requirements of the Public Records Act.”

Since the nonprofit Memphis Shelby Crime Commission functions like a government agency, its records should be public. MSCC disagrees so today, @rcfp @MarshallProj and I sued. #PuttingThePublicInPublicSafety #FOIA #journalism #publicrecords pic.twitter.com/SCIyz5J1Xg

— Wendi C. Thomas (@wendi_c_thomas) February 6, 2019

Local Journalist Sues For Access to Crime Commission Records

However, the crime commission maintains that it does not have to adhere to the Tennessee Public Records Act and that its records are not public.

In one response to Thomas’ request for records, MSCC president Bill Gibbons responded: “As we have stated in response to precious similar requests, the Memphis and Shelby County Crime Commission is a 501(c)(3) private nonprofit entity and is not subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act.”

Additionally, the suit argues that because one-third of the MSCC’s current leadership, including Gibbons, is employed by a public entity, the commission itself is a public body.

The petitioners are asking the court to order MSCC to appear before the court within 10 days to make its case.

Additionally, Thomas and The Marshall Project staff are asking that the documents previously requested are released immediately, their attorneys fees be covered, and that the court finds that the MSCC “willfully refused to grant access to public records.”

Chairman of the MSCC board of dircetors Ben Adams said in a statement Thursday that the commission is not subject to the public records act: “The Crime Commission is a non-profit corporation funded privately and with no governmental authority. It is not subject to the public records act.”

This story has been updated with a statement from the MSCC.

New data shows murders, forcible rapes, aggravated assaults, and robberies across Shelby County are on the rise compared to 2013.

The Memphis-Shelby County Crime Commission disclosed countywide crime statistics for January through July 2014 in the latest Operation: Safe Community monthly crime trends report.

According to the report, violent crime has increased by 5.7 percent in Memphis and 5.8 percent countywide this year thus far compared to last year.

From January to July 2014, there were 80 murders, 233 forcible rapes, 4,880 aggravated assaults, and 1,987 robberies in Shelby County. Over the same period in 2013, there were 73 murders, 218 forcible rapes, 4,622 aggravated assaults, and 1,872 robberies.

“We are concerned about the increase in reported major violent crimes,” said Bill Gibbons, chair of Operation: Safe Community and commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, in a statement. “It points out the importance of continuing to focus on those parts of the Operation: Safe Community plan designed to curb violent street crime, in particular, data-driven deployment of police resources to areas of high rates of youth crime.”

On the contrary, major property crime decreased by 5.4 percent in Memphis and 5.5 percent countywide from January through July 2014, compared to the same time period in 2013.

In 2014, there were 6,845 burglaries, 16,630 theft offenses, and 1,792 motor vehicle thefts. However, in 2013, there were 7,513 burglaries, 17,446 theft offenses, and 1,781 motor vehicle thefts.

“We are encouraged by the continued decline in reported major property crimes, both in Memphis and countywide,” Gibbons said. “We hope the decline in reported domestic violence offenses is a sign that state and local efforts to address this problem are paying off.”

The Operation: Safe Community monthly crime trends report utilizes data reported by local enforcement agencies to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System.

Operation: Safe Community was launched in 2007 and is an initiative to reduce crime in Memphis and Shelby County. Spearheaded by the Memphis-Shelby County Crime Commission, the initiative involves an organized network of more than 100 partner organizations.