Memphis highway crime down 1 year into Slow Down Memphis operation

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - With the start of the 2022-2023 school year in Memphis and Shelby County, there’s going to be a bit of an uptick in traffic on city/county highways, what with bus routes, parents, and carpoolers going to and from school in the mornings and afternoons.

Memphis Police (MPD) are reporting those highways are safer one year into the Slow Down Memphis operation.

Starting August 5 of last year, MPD, along with Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), launched the operation as a renewed push to bring traffic infractions and crime down in the Bluff City.

One year into the operation, it appears what these agencies are doing is working.

“We’ve seen some improvement, but there’s additional work to be done,” said Col. Keith Watson with MPD’s Special Operations.

The improvements are slight, but they are decreases in numbers that have been on an upward trend for years.

Traffic Fatalities in Shelby County, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, were trending upward, 147 in 2021 (up until August 1 of that year).

In that same time period this year, the number is 138.

Fatal and serious injury crashes were at 3,765 for the same time period in 2021, now down by over 100 this year at 3,623.

Col. Watson says the number of citations that have been given out for traffic infractions has significantly increased.

“...Things like aggressive driving, reckless driving, speeding, and drag racing,” he said.

What’s more, interstate shootings in Memphis and Shelby County are down by almost half.

“This time last year, there were over 80...” Watson said. “Right now, we’re at about 50, so there’s a significant decrease.”

We’re told the creation of MPD’s Scorpion Unit and Auto Theft Task force, both launched within the last year, are due in part to the Slow Down Memphis operation, having their respective successes in fighting violent crime and vehicle crime in the city.

“We began to see a lot of cars that we were encountering to be either stolen or not owned by those individuals driving those vehicles, along with those paper license plates, those temporary tags that we see,” Watson said. “We began to see a pattern to those. We devoted resources to the task force who’ve made significant arrests, seizures, and stops of those violators here in the city of Memphis.”

While the downward trend, albeit slight, is encouraging to MPD and the other agencies, as they prepare to continue the operation for another year, they are still asking for the public’s help in catching those who are committing crimes that create unsafe situations on Memphis roadways.

“Whether it’s social media or via cell phone, there are meeting spots that are announced amongst these groups of individuals who are trying to protect the integrity of the offenses they commit,” Watson said. “To slow down Memphis, the life you save may be your own.”

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