Tag: Memphis Police Department

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News The Fly-By

Big Brother on Beale Street

Saturday night, five police officers stood on a platform overlooking hip-hop group Arrested Development’s performance at the Beale Street Music Festival. But that didn’t stop a group of fans near the stage from lighting up a joint during the band’s cover of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.”

Fortunately for the fans, the marijuana smoke must not have drifted to the police perch, because the joint went around uninterrupted. However, if they had known about the Memphis Police Department (MPD) test of the new $3.5 million Real Time Crime Center this weekend, the fans might have thought twice before toking.

As part of the test, hidden and unconcealed cameras were posted throughout Tom Lee Park and around the Beale Street area over the weekend. Those cameras fed into the new state-of-the-art crime center, housed in a secret location, where 10 officers watched video feed on 42 different display screens.

“If [crime center officers] see a crime occur, they’re able to get that information to officers out in the field within minutes through their PDAs,” said Monique Martin, public affairs officer for the MPD. “It helps us catch suspects and stay on top of any crime patterns that may be occurring in the area.”

Inside the center, staffers track crime patterns using the MPD Blue Crush technology, which displays the most recent crime locations on a computer-generated map. This can help officers track a suspect committing multiple crimes in an area.

Though the MPD has been testing elements of the center for several weeks, the Beale Street Music Festival marks the first time all the center’s components were utilized at the same time.

Last year’s event netted 78 total arrests. This year, there were only 42 misdemeanor arrests and six felony arrests in the Beale Street area. Charges ranged from public intoxication and disorderly conduct to drug possession and DUI.

Martin said the crime center also will play an important role in tracking crime during the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest later this month. As with the Beale Street Music Fest, the barbecue event will be heavily patrolled.

“A citizen is not going to be able to turn any corner downtown without seeing an officer in a patrol car, on a bicycle, on a scooter, or on foot,” Martin said. “And we’ll have some officers working out there in plain clothes.”

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Crime Fight

CREDIT: Aaron Kohr | dreamstime.com

When the Memphis Police Department (MPD) upgraded its multi-million-dollar communication system, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office was added to the platform. By joining forces, the law enforcement agencies saved taxpayer money.

But don’t think that means the two departments are ready to share.

County commissioner Mike Carpenter presented a plan last week to the Law Enforcement Consolidation Task Force that would shift county law enforcement to MPD and make the jail the sheriff’s sole responsibility.

“Two weeks ago, task-force members said they weren’t sure what we were talking about. There were no specific proposals,” said Carpenter, the group’s chair. “We need a long-term view. This isn’t about the individuals running things today. It’s not about the mayor.”

Under the proposal, a five-member Public Safety Commission would guide a functional consolidation of the two entities. The commission would consist of five representatives: someone from MPD, someone from the sheriff’s office, a representative of the county mayor, a representative of the city mayor, and a chair, appointed jointly by the city and county mayors. All the mayoral appointments would be confirmed by the City Council and the County Commission.

The plan, which would ultimately require a change in the county charter, would give leaders a chance to reverse or opt out of consolidation agreements if things weren’t going well.

Carpenter called his 21-page proposal a “starting point.” Though several other members of the task force seemed to agree, Sheriff Mark Luttrell called it “premature,” “pre-emptive,” and “ill-timed.”

“One of the most polarizing issues facing the community is consolidation,” Luttrell said. “I feel the report pre-empts the committee process.”

Mike Heidingsfield, director of the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission, the organization that suggested functional consolidation of the departments’ basic training, traffic, search and rescue, and internal affairs divisions in a 2003 report, felt similarly.

“This perspective assumes this group has decided that consolidation is the path to follow. I don’t think we’ve gotten there as an entity,” he said.

Just the word “consolidation” is controversial. Unfortunately, as Carpenter noted, there will never be an “apples to apples” comparison with another city or county. But the proposal makes a good case, citing the elimination of boundaries, a rising jail population, potential economies of scale, and an elimination of unnecessary duplication.

Representatives from three other consolidated police departments told the task force that their organizations were more efficient after consolidation.

Robert White of the Louisville Police Department said, “Everything there were two of, there is now one of, and people are getting the same type of service.”

As it is, MPD and the sheriff’s office rarely operate jointly. The Metro DUI unit, the Memphis Shelby Metropolitan Gang Unit and the Metro Narcotics Unit, once joint crime-fighting efforts, have all been disbanded.

“Joint efforts at attacking non-federal crimes and day-to-day policework appear to be virtually non-existent,” the report noted. “These kinds of differences in philosophy and mission and disputes between the departments are avoided to the benefit of citizens under one single law enforcement agency.”

But perhaps the strongest argument for a functional consolidation is that it will happen one day whether citizens vote on it or not.

In its 2003 report, the Crime Commission noted that, because of annexation, there will be fewer than 20,000 residents in unincorporated Shelby County by the year 2020.

“Continuing at the current staffing levels to provide law enforcement for the small area described above is impractical and effectively results in municipal taxpayers, who are also county taxpayers, subsidizing law enforcement services for a small portion of unincorporated Shelby County.”

Before its law enforcement divisions were consolidated, Charlotte, North Carolina, was in a similar situation.

“It was not going to be long before the county police did not have a jurisdiction to police,” Charlotte representative Russ McElwee told the task force. “One of the strongest arguments for consolidation was the city people were paying county police salaries without any of the benefits.”

Consolidated law enforcement may not save money, although it has in some places. But that’s probably not the main issue for citizens of a high-crime society.

The success of law enforcement isn’t measured in dollars and cents but in safety and security. And, as the report noted, law enforcement may see boundaries but criminals don’t.

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5-Year Plan Presented to Law Enforcement Consolidation Group

Saying it was just a “starting point,” County Commissioner Mike Carpenter officially presented his consolidation proposal to the law enforcement consolidation task force on Wednesday.

“I don’t think this is an air-tight proposal. … This is open to discussion,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter’s plan suggests creating a Public Safety Commission that would guide a five-year consolidation process of the Memphis Police Department and the law enforcement duties of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. If, during that time, consolidation was not working or was costing too much money, the bodies involved could opt not to go forward.

But some task force members said they needed more time to come up with a viable proposal.

“If it takes five years to execute [the plan], we need to take longer than 90 days to choose that path,” said Mike Heidingsfield, head of the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission.

The task force’s next meeting is November 28th.

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Q&A: U.C. 1318,

CREDIT: Sergejs Nescereckis | dreamstime.com

He can’t tell the media his real name. Instead, he gives out the number U.C. 1318. For the past two and a half years, that number has been his sole identity within the Memphis Police Department (MPD).

U.C. 1318, a young, African-American police officer, retired from undercover gang operations two weeks ago. He was chosen for undercover duty straight out of the police academy and his badge, gun, and uniform were stored in an unmarked box in his attic. But those items will finally get some use as U.C. 1318 drops the number and becomes a member of the MPD’s Organized Crime Unit.

According to the MPD’s undercover handler Paul Sherman, covert officers rarely work undercover in gangs for more than two and a half years. During that time, they dress, talk, and walk like gang members — both on the job and off.

Fresh out of the undercover program, U.C. 1318 speaks out about what life was like living a lie. — Bianca Phillips

Flyer: How did you prepare yourself for a role as a gang member?

U.C. 1318: You just pick up on it. You try to fit in as well as possible. You try to sound like them, dress like them, turn your hats the same way they do. You watch rap videos and listen to how people speak. On my first day, I just listened to the terminology everybody was using.

How did you build the trust of gang members?

You have to be around these people 24/7. If they see you only randomly, then they’re not going to believe that you’re one of them. These people are gang members, but they still have lives. You’ve gotta be around their families.

Were gang members suspicious about you being a cop?

They’re always suspicious. They’re always saying, “Man, I gotta be careful out there. Blue Crush is down on us hard.” They don’t trust each other. They don’t even trust their best friends.


What was a typical day like?

Every day is different from the last. You have to be prepared for what could happen or what might happen. I never came out of role. If that required me to get up at 2 or 3 in the morning or 11 o’clock at night, then I did what I needed to do.

It was really hard on my family. I’d get up and tell me wife, “I gotta go.” And she understood.

Did you stay undercover when you were home with your wife?

I had to stay in that role all the time. It was hard for my parents and my wife. Sometimes they would get upset, but they understood that I had to stay in role. If you don’t do it at home, you’ll slip. That could cause me to make a mistake out there, and that’s not what I want. And that’s not what they want.

When you weren’t working, did you disguise yourself to leave the house?

I didn’t go out. Instead of going out and having dinner with my family, I stayed home. I’d rent movies and do things around the house.

What was the hardest part?

The hardest thing is going into a house where these gang members live and seeing the 5- and 6-year-olds who are walking around. You still see the innocence in them, and if they stay in this environment, this is all they’re going to know: guns, violence, and drugs.

Is there a best part?

The part that makes me happy is when it’s all said and done, we lock up all these gang members and drug dealers and help make the community a little bit better than it was to begin with.

Do you fear retribution?

I don’t believe we should fear these people. The problem now is they convince and bully people into fearing them. They think they have control in certain communities and neighborhoods. No one should live in fear of these people.