Victims and witnesses of crime who have been intimidated and fear testifying in court cases can now be relocated through a new program introduced Monday, June 21 by prosecutors, law enforcement and a Raleigh church.

The program, 901 WRAP — Witness Relocation and Assistance Program — was announced during a press conference at Greater Imani Church.

Rev. Bill Adkins, pastor of the church, donated $10,000 from the church to help jump-start the relocation initiative and he urged citizens, businesses and other churches to donate and support WRAP.

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Earlier this year, Adkins said crime victims and witnesses would be more likely to testify if they could be relocated during a trial and placed out of reach of people who might try to intimidate them into silence.

“Violent crime in this city has gone berserk. You know it and I know it. Our streets are like rivers of blood and this is just one initiative joining other initiatives trying to help it,” Adkins said.

“The simple fact that we want to enable our detectives, our investigators on the scene when they talk to a potential witness, to be able to say to them, if you are afraid, we have a program that can relocate you out of this community. We want our investigators to have that as a tool in their toolbox to utilize.”

Adkins said MPD Lt. Therman Richardson alerted him to the issue of victims and witnesses of crimes not wanting to testify out of fear. Adkins said Richardson told him about the problem after Adkins contacted Richardson about why homicides and other crimes went unsolved or were not prosecuted.

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Richardson, a 27-year veteran with MPD and a former homicide detective, said the fear factor for witnesses and victims willing to come forward is an issue that law enforcement and prosecutors face daily in Memphis, and the issue has gotten worse.

“It is huge,” Richardson said. “We deal with this on a daily basis. Coming out of homicide and doing undercover work in the organized crime unit, fear is the driving factor. And this code on the street is a big driving factor against witnesses coming forth and providing what we need in order to successfully bring prosecution. So this particular program would definitely serve as a huge, phenomenal push targeting those violent crimes. (Getting) people willing to testify will be great.”

Such relocation programs have been implemented by law enforcement in other states including California, and Richardson first broached the idea here with state Rep. Antonio Parkinson. Parkinson said he sponsored a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly, but it has not passed yet though he remains hopeful it will garner support.

Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich agreed with Richardson that getting victims and witness to come to court is an ongoing issue.

“Oftentimes, our victim witness coordinators and our prosecutors spend countless hours just trying to locate witnesses. Trying to convince witnesses to come to court. And oftentimes those witnesses and victims live in fear -- and rightfully so,” Weirich said.

“Surrounded by those who are itching to pull a trigger; surrounded by those who are itching to continue to victimize innocent people in our community. But if we can get those people to a new neighborhood -- a fresh start, a new location -- it will give them the confidence to step up. It will give them the strength -- physically, emotionally -- to come to court, to raise their right hand and to speak the truth.”

Weirich said her office relocates victims and witnesses already, but it is on a “very small scale” and on a “crisis basis.”

“We don’t have a pool of money set aside in the DA’s budget or the Sheriff’s budget or the Police Director’s budget for this type of victim service,” Weirich said. “So it really is on an as-needed basis. But if the resources are there and depending upon the case and the seriousness of it and the level of threat, we will have to make those determinations in terms of length of relocation and the amount of assistance we are able to provide.”

She said relocation can be short term and needed just for the “hours and days after a violent crime occurs,” but it might also occur before the trial is set to begin.

Other law enforcement officials, including MPD Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner and Bill Gibbons of the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission, applauded the new program.

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Gibbons said an account has been set up through the Crime Commission to receive donations for the program. 

“The Crime Commission is delighted to be the recipient of earmarked contributions for the purpose of funding 901 WRAP,” Gibbons said. 

MPD Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe, asked how many homicide cases were not solved because witnesses or victims were afraid to come to court, said “it is an immeasurable number.”

He added: “We know the number that are unsolved, and that is roughly 40% of our homicides so far this year. But the question becomes, what percentage of those that are unsolved (are) because of fear from a witness? As Director Chapman says: ‘We know someone knows something,’ what is their motivation for not coming forward?” It really is unmeasurable at this point.”

Adkins said the funding for relocation will include moving expenses and other “wraparound services” to help people get a “fresh start.”

“We are going to help these people that are willing to help us,” he said. “People that are willing to testify in our courts deserve our support, and we want to support them on many levels.”