Law Enforcement in the City of Memphis, Tennessee

Introduction

The chosen issue for consideration in milestone two revolves around juvenile crimes and decreased productivity in Wokefield Police Department. Most of the residents within the city of Memphis have been complaining about the high number of carjackings, specifically among young people. Similarly, the external issue within the department relates to the significant reduction in productivity among police officers despite the budget being used to its limit. Therefore, the department should adopt new ways such as the implementation of Blue CRUSH, Public Safety Partnership and CIT training to improve effectiveness in service delivery, thus making budget spending more efficient.

Possible Solutions

Juvenile crimes are one of the most difficult subjects for investigation with respect to law enforcement. This is the case because young people require an evidence-based approach intended at preventing and deterring them from committing crimes. According to statistics, the rate of carjacking had increased by 70 percent by the end of 2021 (Tumer, 2022, para. 7). In addition to this, about 80 young people were arrested for engaging in this crime the same year (Tumer, 2022, para. 9). The positive trajectory in juvenile crime may be an indication of infective crime-solving within the city. As the Lieutenant within the Workfield Police Department, the solutions to the issue were developed after conducting an extensive research on the root cause of the problem. Rational choice theory, as cited by Hudik (2019), holds that individuals’ decision to commit crimes comes after they have analyzed the benefits and risks of their outcomes. When viewed through the lenses of young people, this theory argues that most of them end up committing crimes due to social pressures from their peers. Moreover, young adults tend to repeat these crimes, especially those residing in an environment with a high rate of unsolved crimes combined with ineffective policies.

With that said, the first possible solution to the aforementioned issue is the implementation of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training. This training is necessary because it ensures police officers have the necessary skills to guide them when making arrests. This training is aimed to help reduce officer and citizen injuries. Since carjacking cases are on the rise, CIT will help improve efficiency in the way police officers respond to different situations. The police officers will be trained for a period of 40 hours of instruction from community mental workers (Rogers et al., 2019). The second component involves training for dispatch operators to help identify specific areas with a high probability of people with mental illness (PMI). The last component is a centralized drop-off mental health facility (Rogers et al., 2019). In essence, CIT training will help ensure police officers are able to divert persons in mental crisis away from jail into the appropriate institutions. Overall, CIT will help a lot reduce fatalities among people with mental illness, because they currently represent a quarter of the deadly encounters with law enforcement.

The second proposed solution to the reduction in productivity among police officers is the Crime Reduction Utilizing Statistical History (CRUSH). As an IBM predictive analytics tool, CRUSH will help the department predict the location of future crimes, specifically those related to carjacking. It was developed through the collaboration between Memphis Police Department and University of Memphis (Tulumello & Iapaolo, 2021). CRUSH, in Memphis, contributed largely to the reduction in violent crime.

The third proposed solution, public safety partnership program, aims at ensuring the department is capable of studying crime patterns and, at the same time, coming up with tailored plans to help reduce crimes. Carjacking is increasingly becoming a serious problem in Memphis, and the adoption of this problem will help ensure the department builds the needed capacity to fight such crimes. With the public safety partnership program, the police officers’ main aim will be to identify the specific drivers of violent crimes – this helps them focus their energy on those drivers. It is imperative to note that the program was established by the US Department of Justice to handle crime in various cities, including Cleveland and Davenport (Office of Justice Programs, 2021). The program has previously worked well in Memphis and, as such, will help ensure the department improves its capacity to deal with carjacking.

Methodology

The search strategy adopted in this review revolves around current sources published within the past five years. The author focused specifically on peer reviewed sources published in renowned journals such as Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law and Urban Geography. Initially, the author identified six sources that were searched through reliable sites such as Google Scholar, the Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. The selection criteria adopted was based on several key elements. Firstly, the author considered problem definition and methodology utilized by the researchers with a focus on determining whether the aims of the study aligns with the objective of this review. The second element for consideration was analysis and argumentation, specifically on the sources that the researchers used to address the research problem. Thirdly, the structure of the articles also played an important role in the inclusion criteria. Here, the author focused on the articulation, clarity and precision of the researchers’ arguments. Lastly, the year publication was also utilized extensively in identifying the articles that are suited for this review. They ensure the author has authority over their area of focus.

The types of research reviewed in this study were published within the past five years. The data in one study was gathered by searching words through polling experts as well as assessing main articles that were deemed relevant. For instance, the authors were more interested in the articles that analyzed experimental or quasi-experimental design while implementing control, intervention and matched cohorts. Similarly, this study reviewed research with qualitative mixed methods. The researchers relied on data obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting. They also reviewed various documents including policy documents, institutional websites and municipal decisions. This was intended at ensuring the data obtained was reliable and relevant.

Summary of Findings

This review relied on studies carried out within the past five years in an effort to identify the possible solutions to the situation in the Wokefield Police Department. In the study carried out by Tulumello and Iapaolo (2021), the authors’ aim was to show how Blue CRUSH, a predictive policing program, remains to be one of the most implemented programs. According to the authors, CRUSH is “the application of statistical methods to identify likely targets for police intervention to prevent crimes, followed by conducting interventions against those targets” (Tulumello & Iapaolo, 2021, p. 448). While the authors admitted that the program has several shortcomings, they appraised its effectiveness in helping prevent crime not only in Memphis but also outside the city and state. On the other hand, the findings by the Office of Justice Programs (2021) showed how the implementation of public safety partnership programs resulted in a reduction in crime and victimization by about 13 percent. The program focused mainly on criminal investigations, and criminal justice coordination.

The Crisis Intervention Team has also been utilized both nationally and internationally. According to Rogers et al. (2019), CIT “deals with people who struggle with mental illness and is used for interactions between them and police officers (p. 34). As explicated further by the authors, Crisis Intervention Teams are necessary to reduce fatalities among people with mental illnesses. This is the case because they currently represent a quarter of the deadly encounters with law enforcement.

Conclusion

The Wokefield Police Department, which has a total of 196 officers, should consider implementing a public safety partnership program. It is clear that the department has been thriving for a long time and with this program, the numerous issues that led to the drop in morale will be addressed. The program aims at helping the department start collaborating with other state law enforcement and judiciary partners. Most importantly, the safety partnership program will help improve collaboration and communication between investigators and prosecutors in the cases related to carjacking. Standardization of case files is equally important as investigation is involved – the capacity to investigate cases will improve with the adoption of this program. Overall, the successful implementation of the public safety partnership program will result in a reduction in crime and victimization in Memphis. This is possible because the program’s main focus is on improving criminal investigation and criminal justice coordination in countering crimes related to carjacking.

References

Hudik, M. (2019). Two interpretations of the rational choice theory and the relevance of behavioral critique. Rationality and Society, 31(4), 464-489. Web.

Office of Justice Programs. (2021). Case study: Memphis, Tennessee – Deploying a monumental effort in collaboration to reduce violent crime. Web.

Rogers, M. S., McNiel, D. E., & Binder, R. L. (2019). Effectiveness of Police Crisis Intervention Training Programs. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Web.

Tulumello, S., & Iapaolo, F. (2021). Policing the future, disrupting urban policy today. Predictive policing, smart city, and urban policy in Memphis (TN). Urban Geography, 43(3), 448-469. Web.

Turner, D. (2022). FOX13 INVESTIGATES: Number of Memphis carjackings spikes during the pandemic. MSN. Web.