MPD chief seeks more surveillance tech, recruitment cash
In one of her first big funding requests before the Memphis City Council, Memphis’ new police chief wants heavy investments in surveillance technology.
Memphis police Chief C.J. Davis outlined $6 million in technology funding requests to the council Tuesday. The request included further MPD investment in gunshot location technology, licenseplate reading cameras, additional Blue Crush cameras distributed throughout neighborhoods and cameras for Memphis interstates.
MPD and the city’s human resources department are also asking for $13 million for police recruitment efforts and to fund a take-home car program. All of the money MPD wants would come from federal stimulus dollars given to Memphis under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Davis and Deputy Chief Don Crowe said the department would use about $2 million to lease more Shotspotter technology and use $1 million for about 130 new license-plate readers — 25 of which would be deployed on patrol cars and would scan plates as officers drove.
Davis and Crowe told the council the technology would help the department be more data-driven and use the technology to solve and map crime.
Davis said the department could expand its gunshot detection coverage to five zones of three square miles for two years or three zones of three square miles but for three years length of time. Either option would cost the city about $2 million, she said.
If the city council signs off on the funding, Memphis could have enough Shotspotter technology to cover about 8% of the city’s 300-plus square miles.
“Our focus is on specific areas based on violent crime data,” Davis said. “I think we need to edge our way into this and over the next couple of years evaluate how the Shotspotter system has impacted our workload, our calls for service and our success in this regard.”
The move reflects further investment in surveillance technology, a move that mirrors the actions of police depart
ments nationwide as the technology has proliferated and become more available
MPD announced the deployment of its first Shotspotter installation in April. It covers three square miles in Orange Mound.
Plan faces pushback
MPD’S request is just that, a request. The Memphis City Council needs to sign off on the expenditures. And some on council questioned whether the police department needed more money for recruitment.
Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-thomas asked Davis and Crowe Tuesday how the further recruitment efforts would benefit the community and its recovery from COVID-19 more than money spent elsewhere.
Davis responded to Easter-thomas by saying there was a need for “balance” in the funding decisions the city and council would make. She said the take-home car program would allow MPD to project a “soft presence” in neighborhoods and the cars could potentially help deter crime.
She said the department would overlay crime trends and then decide where the takehome cars would be allocated.
“My main concern was $13.5 million for human resources, for relocation assistance, for sign-on bonuses, for travel marketing and advertising when earlier we had to request additional money for home repairs,” Easterthomas said. “It just seems like, with COVID, we’ve seen exacerbated problems in our community... It would seem that this may not be the best use of our funds.”
Other MPD funding asks
● Davis and Crowe said new take-home car program for $6.75 million would add 125 cars
● A felony assault unit that would investigate aggravated assaults, particularly those where a gun was used. Davis said the city would have more homicides if those shooting had “better aim.” The unit has a price tag of $530,000.
● $495,000 to add a staff psychologist for office mental health. It was unclear if a firm or just one person would be retained.
The city council did not vote on MPD’S funding request Tuesday. The body delayed further consideration of how Memphis will spend about $145 million in remaining federal funds save appropriating $2 million for Regional One and a further $1 million for Collins Chapel. About $142 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding remains unspent.
Funding requests follow understated two months for Davis
Davis and recently appointed second-in-command Crowe coming to the city council Tuesday was among the first big public appearances for the new chief, who has been on the job since mid-june.
Davis made a July 12 visit to the White House, where she met with President Joe Biden. Davis said the meeting opened the possibility of further public safety funding for Memphis.
The new police chief has also regularly attended community meetings and events such as showing up at Boxing at the Pipkin. She also appointed Crowe, who was among several deputy chiefs, an old title, as her second-in-command.
Crowe, a 30-plus year veteran of MPD, ran the Memphis Police Department Real-time Crime Center under former MPD Director Mike Rallings. The crime center is a portion of MPD headquarters that monitors cameras and other technology.
Davis also attended a meeting about “truth-insentencing” with Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.
Truth in sentencing is a term that applies to laws passed that require those convicted of crimes to serve a certain percentage of their sentence and lower the likelihood of parole.
Criminal justice reform advocates argue such laws don’t encourage people to rehabilitate themselves in prison.
While Davis attended that meeting, she did not attend the short news conference afterward.
Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman.