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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – It’s natural to feel safe when pumping gas at night. You need to feel safe when driving on the interstate. These words were spoken by Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy during the first town hall meeting of 2024.
Prosecutor Mulroy told the audience Wednesday that crime in Memphis and Shelby County was worse in 2006. He said it took decades to reach the current situation and he warned that “flattening the crime curve will take time.”
Tanya Bowley, like everyone gathered at Southbrook Town Center Wednesday night, is tired of crime in Memphis.
“People are dying here,” she told Action News 5. “As I sit in my backyard, I hear the sounds of a war zone. We need to understand that people are dying here every day. We need to have a sense of crisis, but we… We don’t have that. We don’t have that.”
“Crime is the most important issue in Shelby County,” Mulroy told the group.
This was his third meeting at City Hall since he took office. His first two were in Fraser and Germantown last year. The first event of 2024 was held in Whitehaven.
“Well, I don’t know about any other government leaders,” Mulroy said. “But I definitely have a sense of crisis because I hear about this every day. I know we’re in a crime crisis, which is why I convened a crime summit. That’s why I’m passionate about criminal prosecution and rehabilitation efforts, which I hope will reduce recidivism rates.”
Prosecutor Mulroy said at least 10 trials have been held so far this year. At this pace, a Shelby County judge could hear it, he said. double The number of trials held last year was not surprising: 47.
Many in attendance Wednesday questioned the idea of granting bail to someone charged with attempted murder.
Prosecutor Mulroy said he supports a constitutional amendment currently proposed by Nashville lawmakers that would allow judges to deny bail for violent crimes other than manslaughter.
Youth crime, or children becoming out of control, is also a major concern. Bowley said the law needs to crack down on parents.
“But if you’re just throwing your kids out on the street and letting them commit crimes, then you need to be held accountable, just like the young man responsible for the mass shooting in Michigan did. “No,” she said. We need it here too. ”
Prosecutor Mulroy assured concerned Memphians that fighting crime will be a top focus.
“It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the first thing I think about when I go to bed,” he said.
The DA also provided an update on Operation Broken Bottles, an organized retail theft task force that is specifically focused on the Memphis slap problem.
In December, the total number of people charged as a result of this operation was 27. Prosecutor Mulroy said 32 people have now been charged.
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